An album released on May 9th, featuring violin concertos by Bruch and Korngold, recorded by South Korean violinist Bomsori Kim and the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra conducted by Jakub Hrusa. The album was issued by Deutsche Grammophon, with which the violinist has been collaborating since 2019 she is, actually, the first South Korean violinist ever to sign a contract with the famous German label.

Bomsori Kim has previously recorded two other albums for Deutsche Grammophon: sonatas with Polish pianist Rafal Blechacz, and concertos with the NFM Orchestra in Wroclaw.

Indeed, Bomsori Kim, now 35 years old, has a special connection with Poland: she has served as artist-in-residence in Poznan and, in 2020, received the Fryderyk Award for the best Polish album recorded abroad namely, the one made in collaboration with Rafal Blechacz.

Here she is now on this second orchestral album from Deutsche Grammophon, with a repertoire that includes one of the most frequently performed concertos in the violin literature: Max Bruch's Violin Concerto No. 1. A score that emphasizes melodic lines and their sustained expression, Bomsori Kim impresses through her technical agility in the third movement as well as her passionate spirit indeed, as the concerto unfolds, she becomes increasingly musically convincing.

On the same album, there is another concerto that deserves to be heard at least as often as Bruch's: Erich Wolfgang Korngold's Violin Concerto in D major, composed in 1945, drawing upon Korngold's rich experience as a film composer the field in which he worked after managing to escape from Nazi Austria.

Bomsori Kim delivers a stronger and more assured musical performance in this second work on the disc, while the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Jakub Hrusa, proves equal to itself at a very high level. The orchestra is not merely an accompanist but a true dialogue partner, with clearly shaped lines beautifully highlighted. In 2026, the International Classical Music Awards gala will be hosted by the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra conducted by Jakub Hrusa, so I am curiously waiting to hear live this orchestra that performs at such a remarkable level.