Composer YOUNEE to Release Double Album 'Improvisations Live In Germany'

With her third album, the South Korean pianist and composer YOUNEE sets new standards and celebrates a spectacular comeback.

Improvisations Live in Germany impressively showcases her extraordinary gift for free improvisation and her deep connection to music. This album is a vivid documentation of her musical journey and her relentless pursuit of artistic freedom and innovation. Recorded at various locations in Germany, it captures the magic of unique performance moments.

Each piece is one-of-a-kind, shaped by the special atmosphere and energy of the audience. The acoustics of the venue, especially the character of the piano, play a significant role. With her impressive creativity and dynamism, she manages to transcend the boundaries between classical music and jazz, creating an exciting new style: Free Classic & Jazz.

Improvisations Live in Germany is an artistic revelation that shows how deep and moving music can be. The recordings were made with a very special microphone technique that virtually places the listener in the position of the artist at the piano.

When YOUNEE performed at the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, she improvised on the theme of spring at the suggestion of an audience member, giving birth to the track "Frühling (Spring)." At the Jazzopen Stuttgart, she captivated the audience with her "Song for JOS." In Hamburg's "Fabrik," "Joy" was the trigger for her performance. "Cuba," recorded at the "Ofenwerk" in Nuremberg, sounds as if she had just returned from Havana, even though she has never been to Cuba.

"Crazy Night in Lichtenfels" was created spontaneously at the city festival in the basket-making town of Upper Franconia. And which jazz club can claim to have its own YOUNEE piece like the "Unterfahrt" in Munich? "From Korea to Bach" is autobiographical. "Lefthand Improvisation," recorded at the Palatia Jazz Festival in Speyer, points to the potential of new playing techniques, and "Instrument Is Alive" is a true "Fantasie Impromptu." This fantasy was inspired by a visit to the Instrument Museum. She imagined the instruments dancing in the absence of visitors.

The musician continues to draw inspiration from classical masters like Bach and Beethoven. Her "Bright Moonlight," recorded at the International St. Wendeler Jazz Days, is inspired by Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata." He called his work a "Sonata quasi una Fantasia."

Her music is exemplary of the postmodern zeitgeist of the 21st century. She rethinks concerts, creating new frameworks and spaces where music can be experienced differently and where musicians and audiences meet on equal footing. For her, music is always communication. Her announcements and the titles of the pieces serve as introductions, as guides.

Her practice of making music requires an almost dreamlike sensitivity, a sense for situations, and the ability to react. For Younee, nothing works without imagination. And the listener always feels that here is an artist who does not use improvisation as a mere stopgap but rather to articulate her very personal attitude towards music.

She always plays what she feels at the moment, and for her, the piano is more a partner and friend than an instrument. This album highlights the role of improvisation, as well as the musical tradition. YOUNEE reunites what has belonged together for decades. For her, improvisation and composition are two sides of the same coin, symbolizing unity.

TRACKS (bundled by venues/festivals)

CD 1

1. Moderation (Live at Elbphilharmonie, Hamburg, 2020) 00:32

2. Frühling (Live at Elbphilharmonie, Hamburg, 2020) 07:05

3. Moderation (Live at SpardaWelt, Jazzopen Stuttgart, 2018) 00:15

4. Song for J.O.S (Live at SpardaWelt, Jazzopen Stuttgart, 2018) 11:15

5. Moderation (Live at Fabrik, Hamburg, 2017) 00:15

6. Joy (Live at Fabrik, Hamburg, 2017) 03:56

7. Moderation (Live at Amtshof, Burgwedel, 2017) 01:03

8. Tod und Leben (Live at Amtshof, Burgwedel, 2017) 05:56

9. Wasser (Live at Elbphilharmonie, Hamburg, 2020) 07:51

10. Moderation (Live at Schloss Berthelsdorf, Jazztage Goerlitz, 2019) 01:02

11. Funky Sonata (Live at Schloss Berthelsdorf, Jazztage Goerlitz, 2019) 08:34

12. Moderation (Live at Rossini Saal, Bad Kissingen, 2022) 00:40

13. Stars on the Sky without Gravity (Live at Rossini Saal, Bad Kissingen, 2022) 07:49

14. Moderation (Live at Marktplatz Open Air, Stadtkonzert, Lichtenfels, 2017) 00:23

15. Crazy Night in Lichtenfels (Live at Marktplatz Open Air, Stadtkonzert, Lichtenfels, 2017) 04:46

16. Moderation (Live at Erholungshaus, Leverkusener Jazztage, Leverkusen, 2020) 00:15

17. Red Indian Summer (Live at Erholungshaus, Leverkusener Jazztage, Leverkusen, 2020) 05:20

18. Moderation (Live at NH Hotel, Ingolstädter Jazztage, Ingolstadt, 2017) 00:06

19. Vollmond (Live at NH Hotel, Ingolstädter Jazztage, Ingolstadt, 2017) 07:09

CD 2

1. Moderation (Live at Saalbau, Int. St. Wendeler Jazztage, St. Wendel, 2021) 00:37

2. From Korea to Bach (Live at Saalbau, Int. St. Wendeler Jazztage, St. Wendel, 2021) 07:21

3. Moderation (Live at Saalbau, Int. St. Wendeler Jazztage, St. Wendel, 2021) 00:57

4. Bright Moonlight (Live at Saalbau, Int. St. Wendeler Jazztage, St. Wendel, 2021) 07:43

5. Moderation (Live at Industriehalle J+K GmbH, Altdorf, 2019) 00:29

6. Jazz Symphony (Live at Industriehalle J+K GmbH, Altdorf, 2019) 07:48

7. Lefthand Improvisation (Live at Gedächtniskirche, Palatia Jazz Festival, Speyer, 2019) 05:39

8. Moderation (Live at Ofenwerk, Nürnberg, 2019) 00:22

9. Cuba (Live at Ofenwerk, Nürnberg, 2019) 04:30

10. Moderation (Live at Theaterhaus, Stuttgart, 2018) 00:44

11. Instrument Is Alive (Live at Theaterhaus, Stuttgart, 2018) 08:38

12. We Will Meet Again (Live at Frankfurter Hof, Mainz, 2018) 06:48

13. Hello Beethoven (Live at Harmonie, Beethoven Festival, Bonn, 2016) 07:13

14. Moderation (Live at Unterfahrt, München, 2017) 00:18

15. Unterfahrt (Live at Unterfahrt, München, 2017) 07:56

16. Moderation (Live at Elbphilharmonie, Hamburg, 2020) 00:24

17. Seoul (Live at Elbphilharmonie, Hamburg, 2020) 06:36