Opus 4

Performers

Notes on the performers

String Quartet Opus Four is a dynamic ensemble formed by master’s students at the Royal Academy of Music. The name ‘Opus Four’ reflects the classical use of ‘opus’ (Latin for ‘work’) to denote a composer’s fourth published piece. The quartet chose this name as a nod to the 1st violinist, Youngmin, who joined the school and found this to be the fourth ensemble she has been part of as a team. With youthful energy, Opus Four performs a wide repertoire, spanning from Haydn to Coldplay, aiming to transport audiences to a world where music knows no boundaries and to bring a fresh perspective to classical music performance in the community.

Youngmin Lee is a Korean violinist and educator based in China. She began her solo career at the age of 18 with the Kyoungki Festival Orchestra, performing Brahms’ Violin Concerto. After graduating from Yonsei University College of Music in South Korea, she gained extensive experience with various professional orchestras, including Gunpo Prime Philharmonic, Creadia, New World Symphony, and served as the second violin associate principal of the Seoul Metropolitan Youth Orchestra.

Following her relocation to China, Youngmin took several gap years. In 2022, she became a 1st violin player of the Xian Symphony Orchestra, performing across China. She has collaborated with numerous conductors and soloists, including Zhang Guoyong and Ningfeng, in various cities throughout the country.

Youngmin has received multiple awards. In September 2024, she won first prize at the 8th Japan International Competition, and she was a semi-finalist in both the 1st Joachim Violin Competition 2023 (UK) and the 3rd Grazyna Bacewicz International Violin Competition in Lodz (Poland). She earned gold and silver medals at the Gyeonggi-Do Student Music Competition in South Korea in 2003, 2004, and 2005, competing successfully as both a soloist and chamber musician. Her string quartet won first prize at the Hong Kong International Music Competition (Chamber Division) 2017 and second prize at the Osaka International Music Competition (Chamber Music) 2016. Currently, she is pursuing a Master of Arts in Performance Studies (Violin) at the Royal Academy of Music in London.

KiHei Lee is a violinist and has just recently settled in London to continue her studies at the Royal Academy of Music. Under the tutelage of violinist Philippe Honoré, KiHei explores and communicates a variety of stories and expressions in music to her audiences. KiHei has a Korean background and was born and raised in New Zealand.

She started her studies at the University of Auckland under Stephen Larsen, and after graduating in 2020, she has had a successful start to her music career. Starting as an Aspiring Musician and then to a Fellow of the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, KiHei has gained many performance experiences in solo, chamber and orchestral settings.

As a violin duo, she is a recipient of the 2019 Royal Overseas League Scholarship which took place in 2022 involving duo and solo recitals in London and the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. KiHei has been acknowledged for her contrasting performances after her award of 2nd place at the National String Competition in New Zealand and performances as a Young Artist of both the 2021 and 2022
Whakatipu Music festivals supported by the Hill Family Foundation.

The violin KiHei plays on is a Klotz made available through a generous loan by the Hill Family Foundation for Art and Music.

Simon Song is an Australian violist based in the UK. As a musician, he has toured across Europe, Asia and Oceania with orchestras and choirs and has performed in spaces such as the Musikverein and Hamer Hall. A passionate chamber musician, he frequently performs in chamber groups of various sizes and combinations, playing repertoire ranging from the baroque period to the 21st century. In the past year, he has been a part of several UK premiers of new works, most recently being Unsuk Chin’s Alaraph with the Royal Academy of Music’s Symphony orchestra.

Simon is currently completing his masters at the Royal Academy of Music with Martin Outram.

Tahee Kim, a Kiwi- Korean cellist, winner of the Royal Overseas League Chamber music competition, has performed across the United Kingdom, at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and St Martin’s in the Field. Invited to perform at the Paleis Het Loo in the Netherlands alongside Martti Roussi, Tahee has collaborated with many respectable musicians such as Clio Gould, Jonathan Mortan and Torleif Thedeen.
Through her many accomplishments, Tahee Kim has been acknowledged through awards like the Arts and Cultural Blues award, the Carl and Alberta Rosenfeldt Prize in Chamber Music and the Donny Charitable Trust Travelling Scholarship, reflecting her versatility as a musician.

Tahee Kim has encompassed solo, chamber and orchestral playing, having a notable performance with the Love and Peace Orchestra as a soloist, and playing alongside the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra and the Cevitas Duo. She has a continuous desire to grow her artistic development and ambitions by pursuing higher education at the Royal Academy of Music in London, in addition to her previous two Masters.

Tahee is committed to sharing her passion for music with others, young and old, playing for young adults and children in schools, and at various rest homes. Through mentorship programs and workshops, she aims to inspire the next generation of musicians and cultivate a greater appreciation for classical music among audiences of all ages. Tahee wishes that her musical journey serves as a testament to resilience and dedication and she hopes to continue her musical journey at the Royal Academy of Music in London.

Programme

Programme notes

Beethoven

String Quartet No 7

1. Allegro (F major)
2. Allegretto vivace e sempre scherzando (B-flat major)
3. Adagio molto e mesto – attacca (F minor)
4. “Thème Russe”: Allegro (F major)

The String Quartet No. 7 in F major, Op. 59, No. 1, was written by Ludwig van Beethoven and published in 1808. This work is the first of three of his “Rasumovsky” cycle of string quartets.

The first movement is in an expansive sonata form, including a fugato in the development and lasting nearly twelve minutes even though it forgoes the then-customary repeat of the exposition. The opening cello melody has its tonality only weakly defined, with the first cadence establishing the key of F major only occurring several bars into the movement.

Another feature of the first movement is the delayed emotional recapitulation. As became one of Beethoven’s many tools for emotional manipulation, delaying the grandiosity of the recapitulation for several bars after the establishment of the tonic key allowed Beethoven to heighten expectation of a definitive statement.

While both the majestic slow third movement and the fourth are also in sonata form, the second movement scherzo is formally one of the most unusual movements of Beethoven’s middle period, easily classifiable as being also in sonata form.

The final movement is built around a popular Russian theme, likely an attempt to ingratiate the work to its Russian commissioner.

Source: Wikipedia