Han Soo-jin's Vivaldi perspective rooted in seaside souvenirs of Isle of Man

Violinist Han Soo-jin said her childhood on the Isle of Man shaped her view of Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons and influenced her newly released second album, which she recorded with the English Chamber Orchestra. She described the work as a reflection of nature and music, and said the orchestra will return to Korea after 15 years for concerts with her in four cities. She also said her hearing loss helped give her a distinct sound.

Han recorded her second album, The Four Seasons, with the English Chamber Orchestra last September at Abbey Road Studios in London.

The orchestra will tour Korea on Oct. 24 in Tongyeong, Oct. 25 in Incheon, Oct. 28 in Daegu and Oct. 30 in Seoul.

The program includes Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons, Mozart’s Divertimento in D Major, Rossini’s String Sonata No. 1 and Britten’s Simple Symphony.

Han first gained recognition in 2001 when she became the first Korean to win second prize at the International Henryk Wieniawski Violin Competition in Poland.

She was born with impaired hearing in her left ear and later underwent surgery for a temporomandibular joint disorder in her mid-20s, requiring six years of recovery.

Published Oct 4, 2026 12:15 am KST

Updated Oct 4, 2026 11:41 am KST

Korean violinist Han Soo-jin / Courtesy of SH Arts & Classic

The Isle of Man, a British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea between Great Britain and Ireland, holds special musical memories for violinist Han Soo-jin, 40. Born in Busan, Han moved to Britain with her parents at age 2 and spent the first three and a half years of her childhood on the island.

Surrounded by meadows and the sea, it was also where she first heard Vivaldi's "The Four Seasons." That memory has now found its way into her recently released second album, "The Four Seasons," her first album featuring a concerto with an orchestra. She recorded it with the English Chamber Orchestra (ECO) last September at London's Abbey Road Studios, where the Beatles recorded their music.

During a press conference on Wednesday at Sounds S in Yongsan District, Seoul, Han said, "Some people might wonder why I chose Vivaldi's 'The Four Seasons,' which has been performed so often and has so many acclaimed recordings."

"But I believe that even when performers remain faithful to the same score, the music that emerges after passing through each performer's prism inevitably sounds different," she said.

For Han, "The Four Seasons" represents the connection between nature and music in her childhood. She said she loved the sea so much that "sea" was reportedly the first word she said after "Mom" and "Dad." On the Isle of Man, she said, "I felt nature through music and listened to music through nature."

That experience is also closely tied to her identity. "When I play Vivaldi, I feel that I'm not so much describing nature as becoming part of nature and playing," she said.

The album also features Astor Piazzolla's "The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires." Han said, "If Vivaldi paints landscapes in nature, Piazzolla seems to portray the four seasons within the human heart."

"It was meaningful to work on the two 'Four Seasons' because I felt as if they were having a conversation with each other," she said.

The ECO, which began as the Goldsbrough Orchestra in 1948 and has performed under its current name since 1960, has been supported by King Charles III since 1977, when he was still the Prince of Wales. The orchestra is returning to Korea for the first time in 15 years for concerts with Han. The tour will visit Tongyeong, South Gyeongsang Province, on Oct. 24, Incheon on Oct. 25, Daegu on Oct. 28 and Seoul on Oct. 30. The program includes Vivaldi's "The Four Seasons" with Han as soloist, Mozart's "Divertimento in D Major," Rossini's "String Sonata No. 1" and Britten's "Simple Symphony."

Han first gained recognition in 2001 when, at age 15, she became the first Korean to win second prize at the International Henryk Wieniawski Violin Competition in Poland. She was born with impaired hearing in her left ear and later underwent surgery for a temporomandibular joint disorder in her mid-20s. It took her six years to recover, including three years during which she could not play her instrument.

But she does not describe the experience simply as a story of "overcoming adversity." During the years when she had to put down her instrument for treatment and give up performing, she said she instead came to realize how much she loved music and what a great blessing it was to live as a musician.

That experience is also connected to the music she makes today.

"People tell me that my sound is different, and I wonder if it's because I hear differently due to the hearing loss in one ear, which results in a different sound," she said. "Having a unique sound is an advantage for a musician. Perhaps what seemed like a disadvantage was actually a hidden blessing for me."

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.

小提琴家韩秀珍表示，她在马恩岛的童年经历塑造了她对维瓦尔第《四季》的理解，并影响了她与英国室内乐团合作录制的新专辑。她将这张专辑描述为自然与音乐的融合，并表示该乐团将在15年后重返韩国，与她一起在四个城市举办音乐会。她还提到，听力障碍反而赋予了她独特的音色。

去年九月，韩在伦敦艾比路录音室与英国室内乐团合作录制了她的第二张专辑《四季》。

该乐团将于10月24日在统营、10月25日在仁川、10月28日在大邱、10月30日在首尔进行韩国巡演。

演出曲目包括维瓦尔第的《四季》、莫扎特的D大调嬉游曲、罗西尼的第一弦乐奏鸣曲和布里顿的《简易交响曲》。

韩在 2001 年首次获得认可，当时她成为第一个在波兰举行的亨里克·维尼亚夫斯基国际小提琴比赛中获得第二名的韩国人。

她出生时左耳听力受损，20多岁时接受了颞下颌关节紊乱症的手术，术后恢复期长达六年。

发布于2026年10月4日凌晨12:15（韩国标准时间）

更新于2026年10月4日上午11:41（韩国标准时间）

韩国小提琴家韩秀珍 / 图片由SH Arts & Classic提供

位于英国和爱尔兰之间的爱尔兰海中的马恩岛是英国皇家属地，对于40岁的小提琴家韩秀珍来说，这里承载着特殊的音乐回忆。韩秀珍出生于釜山，2岁时随父母移居英国，并在马恩岛度过了她童年的前三年半。

四周环绕着草地和大海，她也是在那里第一次听到了维瓦尔第的《四季》。这段记忆如今融入了她近期发行的第二张专辑《四季》中，这是她第一张与管弦乐队合作演奏协奏曲的专辑。去年九月，她与英国室内乐团（ECO）在伦敦的艾比路录音室录制了这张专辑，披头士乐队也曾在这里录制他们的音乐。

周三，韩在首尔龙山区 Sounds S 举行的新闻发布会上表示：“有些人可能会好奇，为什么我选择维瓦尔第的《四季》，这部作品经常被演奏，并且有很多广受好评的录音版本。”

“但我相信，即使演奏者忠于同一乐谱，经过每位演奏者的诠释后，最终呈现出的音乐也必然会有所不同，”她说。

对韩来说，《四季》代表了她童年时期自然与音乐之间的联系。她说她非常热爱大海，据说“大海”是她除了“妈妈”和“爸爸”之外学会的第一个词。她说，在马恩岛，“我通过音乐感受自然，也通过自然聆听音乐。”

那段经历也与她的身份认同紧密相连。“当我演奏维瓦尔第的作品时，我觉得我不是在描绘自然，而是融入自然，与自然一同演奏，”她说。

这张专辑还收录了阿斯托尔·皮亚佐拉的《布宜诺斯艾利斯的四季》。韩说：“如果说维瓦尔第描绘的是自然风景，那么皮亚佐拉似乎描绘的是人类内心的四季。”

“参与制作这两部《四季》很有意义，因为我觉得它们就像在进行一场对话，”她说。

ECO乐团的前身是成立于1948年的戈尔兹布罗夫管弦乐团，自1960年起更名为ECO。自1977年起，乐团一直受到当时的威尔士亲王查尔斯三世国王的资助。此次，乐团时隔15年重返韩国，携手韩先生举办音乐会。巡演将于10月24日在庆尚南道统营市举行，10月25日在仁川市，10月28日在大邱市，10月30日在首尔市举行。演出曲目包括由韩先生担任独奏的维瓦尔第《四季》、莫扎特《D大调嬉游曲》、罗西尼《第一弦乐奏鸣曲》以及布里顿《简易交响曲》。

韩在2001年首次崭露头角，当时年仅15岁的她成为首位在波兰亨里克·维尼亚夫斯基国际小提琴比赛中获得二等奖的韩国选手。她出生时左耳听力受损，20多岁时又接受了颞下颌关节紊乱症的手术。她花了六年时间才康复，其中三年无法演奏小提琴。

但她并没有简单地将这段经历描述为“克服逆境”的故事。她说，在她不得不放下乐器接受治疗、放弃演出的那些年里，她反而更加深刻地体会到自己有多么热爱音乐，以及作为一名音乐家生活是多么幸福的一件事。

那段经历也与她如今创作的音乐息息相关。

“人们说我的声音和别人不一样，我不知道是不是因为我一只耳朵听力受损，听觉也不同，所以声音听起来才不一样，”她说。“拥有独特的声音对音乐家来说是一种优势。也许对我来说，原本看似劣势的事情，实际上却是一种意想不到的恩赐。”

本文来自《韩国日报》（《韩国时报》的姊妹报），由人工智能生成系统翻译，并由《韩国时报》编辑。