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PRESS REVIEWS

The audience was captivated by the majestic vibrations of the Stradivarius violin, delivered with a ravishing quality and exceptional sonority in the Ysaye Ballade by So-Ock Kim’ Midi-Libre, Montpelier, July 2005

‘The Guildhall New Music Ensemble, performed A Deep But Dazzling Darkness, a violin concerto by James Macmillan…..dazzlingly played by So-Ock Kim’. The Guardian  MacMillan Weekend/Barbican   January 2005

‘Finally, there was Brahms's Violin Concerto, played with complete responsiveness and beauty of line by So-Ock Kim, Seoul's wunderkind. After a first movement and slow movement of unerring artistry, she unbuttoned the gypsy high spirits of the finale with exhilarating aplomb. Newsquest (Herald & Times) Ltd ,Queen’s Hall Edinburgh   March 2004

‘At 22, So-Ock Kim brought a gracious presence to the stage, playing with light-fingered virtuosity and an intense passion’. The Scotsman   Queen’s Hall Edinburgh   March 2004

'The soloist So-Ock Kim, who clearly likes this complex work [Brahms] with its passion and pent-up emotional energy, appeared to live every note which she played, in a performance which was simply spellbinding....this was a performance that will live in the memory as outstanding for many years to come'. The Galloway Gazette, Queen’s Hall Edinburgh  March 2004

‘Violinist So-Ock Kim’s lunchtime Wigmore recital on 14 October was a no-nonsense programme beginning with Beethoven’s G major Sonata Op.30 No.3.  She brought to it (Saint-Saens Havaniase) a burnished tone and a rhythmic freedom that were highly seductive.  Most impressive of all was her Elgar Sonata, in which she captured the bitter-sweet lyricism of the first movement, and brought a highly personal voice to the hushed torment of the second.  Mindful of her duo partner too, she constantly drew in the piano, feeding from it and accompanying it sensitively where appropriate’. The Strad, Wigmore Hall/January 2004

‘...So-Ock presented flawless playing with beautiful intonation and bowing...Without a doubt her performance of Bartók’s Sonata No.1 was absolutely awesome – sheer technical brilliance in tandem with power and insight’. The Strad, May 2003    Wigmore Hall/February 2003

Strong, expressive and full of energy ‘The South Korean violinist....was not only full of energy and technically flawless, but more importantly capable of such expressive and interpretative ability in a demanding programme.  So-Ock Kim is the name of this wonder, presented by the Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in their series ‘Die Junge Elite’...the 21 year old astonished the audience with her flawless playing and astounding musicality.  It seems that for her, everything is possible....she drew the audience in with her playing, combining tender lyrical playing, songlike simplicity, along with a rich and dynamic flow, revealing every nuance of the music’. Ostsee-Zeitung  Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern  August 2003

‘Eighteen-year-old violinist So-Ock Kim gave a remarkably assured recital at Wigmore Hall, with a vibrant programme.  Her big, broad tone sang out in the Brahms’ D minor Sonata and she showed fine sensitivity in the beautifully spun phrases of the Adagio...Kim scaled the incredible demands of Bartók’s solo Violin Sonata with apparent ease in a performance of mesmerising intensity’. The Strad, Wigmore Hall  February 2002

‘...remarkable violinist So-Ock Kim, still in her late teens....breathtaking virtuosity...she shaped a powerful performance....magic’The Times, PLG Series/Purcell Room  January 2001

‘So-Ock Kim....outstanding.What was so remarkable about Kim’s playing was not only her technical mastery, but also the tenderness and warmth she found...there was an unmistakable sense of a personal, emotional involvement with the music, revealing astonishing musical maturity’. The Guardian, PLG Series/Purcell Room  January 2001

‘The first concert on Monday by violinist So-Ock Kim set an awesome standard.  She carried off three highly demanding pieces of very different character with an impressive command of technique, making Ferneyhough’s excruciating Intermedio alla cioaconna sound almost effortless, and discovering a vein of lyricism in Elliott Carter’s austere Riconoscenza’ The Independent , PLG Series/Purcell Room  January 2001

So-Ock Kim is 18 years old and knows no fear.  She played Brian Ferneyhough’s Intermedio alla ciaconne as if it was an ecstatic cadenza she was improvising on the spot, spraying vertiginous glissandi and expansive flourishes in all directions.  The range of colours at her disposal is dazzling....a genuine risk-taking performance’. The Observer, PLG Series/Purcell Room  January 2001