Cellist Lee Jeong-ran Releases First Solo Album + Nationwide Tour Recital

Music of French Composers Including Saint-Sa?ns, Faur?, Debussy, and Poulenc

[Asia Economy Reporter Byunghee Park] Cellist Lee Jeong-ran (37) is releasing her first solo album, 'Rendez-vous a Paris,' and embarking on a nationwide tour.

Released on the 21st under the Sony Classical label, 'Rendez-vous a Paris' features masterpieces by French composers representing the 19th and 20th centuries, including Camille Saint-Sa?ns, Gabriel Faur?, Claude Debussy, and Francis Poulenc, arranged in chronological order.

Lee Jeong-ran selected pieces that best express herself while reflecting on her time studying at the Paris Conservatory. The album includes Saint-Sa?ns' Cello Sonata and the beautiful melody from the opera 'Samson and Delilah,' "Mon cœur s'ouvre ? ta voix," Faur?'s romantic miniatures "Papillon" and "Sicilienne," Debussy's only cello sonata and "Clair de Lune," and Poulenc's cello sonata and "L'amour de loin," which depict the elegant wit and vitality of France. The album is filled with colorful French music born during the culturally and economically flourishing Belle ?poque era before the World Wars and the modernist period after the wars.

Lee Jeong-ran said, "I wanted to capture my life and music in Paris through this album."

She recorded the album last September at Tongyeong International Music Hall with Russian pianist Ilya Rashkovsky, who also studied with her in France.

Lee Jeong-ran graduated from Yewon School and Seoul Arts High School, and while attending Seoul National University, she was unanimously accepted into the Paris Conservatory by the jury, completing both the bachelor's and the highest performance courses there.

To celebrate the release of her first solo album, Lee Jeong-ran will start a nationwide tour beginning on July 7th at the IBK Chamber Hall in Seoul Arts Center, followed by performances at Kumho Art Hall in U-Square Culture Center, Gwangju (August 27), and the Chamber Hall of Daegu Concert House (August 28). Together with pianist Rashkovsky, who participated in the album recording, she will perform major sonatas and miniatures featured on the album. The Gwangju and Daegu concerts were originally scheduled for March but postponed to August.