ISCM 2026 · Bucharest, Romania
SAMMUL (三物)
NORI
for Piano Trio
and Selected Works for Performers
A new chapter of the NORI Series
for Piano Trio
and Selected Works for Performers
A new chapter of the NORI Series
Programme Note for Piano Trio
The work channels Samulnori's percussive vitality into contemporary chamber music: rhythmic patterns evoke flowing water, symbolizing the harmony between human activity and natural cycles, while capturing fleeting moments like a Polaroid refracting today's ecological crisis.
Nori (놀이) signifies both "play" and artistic fusion. Through dynamic interplay among piano, violin, and cello, the piece bridges Korea's pastoral past with our urgent contemporary need for environmental healing.
Chamber works that translate the percussive vitality of Korea's traditional Samulnori into intimate ensemble writing — reducing the forces further with each piece, exploring transformation and ecological urgency.
A foundation of post-tonal harmony, colored by New Romantic warmth, animated by the rhythmic energy of Korean traditional music. Classical discipline — figural variation, imitation, rhythmic tension and release — holds the architecture together.
"Kim's music asks two things of its performers at once:
the precision of contemporary music,
and a singing heart."
Selected for ISCM World New Music Days 2026, Bucharest, Romania
Premiered by Trio Larson
Performed at Chang-akhoe 67th Concert
2025 CMSS Festival III
Selected for 2012 ARKO Korean Contemporary Music Festival
National Theater of Korea, Haeoreum Hall
Grand Prize, KBS Orchestral Composition Competition (2001)
Premiered by KBS Symphony Orchestra (2002)
1st Prize, “Città di Udine” International Contemporary Music Competition, Italy (1998)
Premiered by Inter Ensemble at Teatro S. Giorgio, Udine
"Why must contemporary music
be difficult to be serious?"
Jongwoo Kim writes music that lives in the post-tonal world without abandoning the singing line. Admitted with top honors to Yonsei University, he studied under Kim Chung-mook, developing a refined contrapuntal language that moves freely between tonal and atonal terrain.
He has long engaged with the American New Romantic tradition — the sound-worlds of John Corigliano, Stephen Albert, and Christopher Rouse — pursuing music that is harmonically adventurous yet emotionally direct. His Piano Concerto No. 1 (Grand Prize, KBS) and Wilderness (ARKO 2012) mark the height of this period.
Streaming on Apple Music · Scores published by Taukay Edizioni Musicali (Italy)
If any of these works speak to you,
I would be glad to hear from you.
Whether you wish to perform an existing piece,
or have a new work written for your own instrumentation,
I welcome the conversation.
Scores are provided free of charge.
Composition fees are flexible
— and for committed performers, often unnecessary.
What matters most to me is finding musicians
who want to bring this music to life.
Open to performers. Open to new collaborations.
Get in Touch
