SOOHWANG CHOI

• Louis Vierne: Symphony No.1 - VI. Final

"This eclectically balanced CD includes some fine organ music which is played with substantial panache by Soohwang Choi, a multi-talented organist... She plays the Frescobaldi works with a deft touch... [the] De Grigny pieces are rare delights, especially the Dialogue sur les Grands Jeux which sounds quite ravishing on the Rieger Organ... [in the Bach Trio Sonata] my selected comparison is Peter Hurford on Decca, but Choi is also quite impressive both as regards playing and also technical ability...  Finally we are back in Seoul for the party piece, Louis Vierne's First Organ Symphony. This is also neatly done with the expansive Prelude given just the right sense of gravitas. The following Fugue is full of momentum and energy which Choi copes quite well with, as she does in the lovely pastorale with the lower sounding notes given particular expressive beauty. The final three movements are also winningly done with a tub thumping Final that threatens to break down the roof of the YoungSan Art Hall. .. the MSR presentation is of the usual top standard with short yet detailed notes by Choi herself and the well filled timing is also quite attractive. A fine organ recital which is well worth investigation."

Gerald Fenech, Music and Vision - September 2010

"...the Grigny has the right registration and pace... Bach's Trio Sonata is the highpoint of this recording. The Fowkes organ [has] the sweetness of the flute stop that makes this performance ideal. Independent lines are crystal clear."

Metz, American Record Guide - July/August 2010

"SooHwang Choi is a prominent Korean organist who at a relatively young age can cite an impressive set of credentials: the usual string of degrees, plus scholarships, teaching assignments, and solo recitals throughout Asia and the U.S. She has studied with a host of leading teachers, including Peter Williams, Jean Guillou, Hans Davidsson, Davitt Moroney, and Christoph Wolff. If the latter two names are familiar, then you already have an idea of her approach to early music. The present CD appears to be her first; I wasn’t able to discover any previous effort on the Internet. It’s always exciting to discover new talent—one of the most satisfying aspects of record reviewing is the prospect of writing the first review of the next Heifetz or Rubinstein. Time will tell, of course, with SooHwang Choi, but this debut recital is promising...”

Christopher Brodersen, Fanfare - May/June 2010

"Native Korean Soohwang Choi...gives attractive recitals on two very different instruments. First, on the Rieger Organ (2002) of the Youngsan Art Hall, Seoul, Korea, she gives a varied program with a wide range of styles, beginning with two contrasted Toccatas by Girolamo Frescobaldi... The other is a better-behaved, homophonic toccata, intended to inspire a mood of reverence. Next, Ave Maria Stellis by Nicholas de Grigny uses reed stops, uneven rhythms (notes inégales) and rich ornamentation to create an intimate effect appropriate to the Feast of the Annunciation. Finally, the highly chromatic Symphony No.1 by Louis Vierne uses all the resources of the Rieger, a true symphonic organ. On the Richard Fowkes Organ of Christ Church, New Brunswick, New Jersey, Choi gives an eloquent account of J.S. Bach’s Trio Sonata No.2 in C Minor, BWV 526, a work that demands as much from the pedals as it does the manuals.”

Audio Video Club of Atlanta - December 2009

“In this recital of organ works from three centuries and three different countries, SooHwang Choi plays with superior technique and outstanding musicality. Also she demonstrates an impeccable understanding of the contrasting musical styles of Frescobaldi, de Grigny, Bach, and Vierne.”

George Ritchie
Professor of Organ Emeritus
University of Nebraska at Lincoln

“SooHwang Choi performs with a grace and elegance that is rare in the world of organ playing. She is comfortable with an unusually wide range of styles—from Frescobaldi to Vierne. Whether performing small, intimate works written for the elevation at Communion or large, grandiose compositions crafted for concert performance, she is able to capture the spirit of the music and bring it to an engaging realization.”

George B. Stauffer
Dean and Professor of Music
Mason Gross School of the Arts
Rutgers University

SooHwang Choi maintains an active career as an organist. She has given debut concerts at “The New Wave Organist” of Japan’s Organists Association in Japan in 1996, a solo recital at the Sejong Cultural Center in Korea in 1997, and a solo recital in the United States under the title, “The Journey of Faith Through Early Organ Music”. As a recording artist, Ms. Choi has released several live organ concerts on CD that feature early music from Italy, France and Germany. Based on her own research of the life and works of Girolamo Frescobaldi and J. S. Bach, she has articles for several academic journals. In addition, her lectures on the subject have included collaborations with Professor Edoard Bellotti at the Symposium in Korea. In Korea, Ms. Choi has taught as an organ lecturer at Dankuk University, Pyungtaeck University, Ewha Womans University, and Hansei University and was an affliated faculty member of Sungkyul University. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Church Music from Ewha Womans University (Seoul, Korea), a Master’s Degree majoring in organ from Musashino Academi Musicae (Tokyo, Japan), and a Doctoral degree majoring in organ from Hansei University (Kunpo, Korea). She has also been awarded scholarships as an honored student from Ewha Womans University, Hansei University, Rutgers University, and a full scholarship from the ‘Ministry of education of Japan’. Ms. Choi is currently pursuing an additional doctoral degree at the Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University in New Jersey, where she is an assistant organist. She studied with Antonius Bittmann, Dean George B. Stauffer, Mark Trautman, MoonKyung Chae, JaKyung Oh, and Teruhisa Fujieda. She took further organ  courses of study with Jon Lauvik, P. Wackwitz, Hans Davidsson, William Porter, Edorado Bellotti, Christoph Wolff, Peter Williams, Jean Guillou, Ludger Lohmann, Christoph Bossert, Davitt Moroney, and Tsuguo Hirono in Germany, Italy, Korea, and Japan. She has made concert appearances in New Jersey, New York, Tokyo, Yokohama, Musashino, Shinjuku, Kanagawa, Kawaguzi, Wonju, Seoul, Berlin, and Smarano, receiving much critical acclaim. As a result, she has been the subject of numerous articles published in leading Korean music magazines and newspapers. SooHwang Choi is a staff member of the Korean Organist Society and main organist of Palisades Church in New Jersey.

GIROLAMO FRESCOBALDI (1583-1643)
TOCCATA SESTA (Il Secondo Libro di Toccate)
TOCCATA QUARTA (Il Secondo Libro di Toccate)

NICOLAS DE GRIGNY (1672-1703)
AVE MARIS STELLA
Ave Maris Stella
Fugue à 4
Duo
Dialogue sur les Grands Jeux

JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH (1685-1750)
TRIO SONATA IN C MINOR, BWV 526

LOUIS VIERNE (1870-1937)
SYMPHONY NO.1 IN D MINOR, OP.14
Prelude
Fugue
Pastorale
Allegro vivace
Andante
Final
 

MSR Classics