Eun Sun Kim and NBE Release Album • June 2023
The Netherlands, Europe
Eun Sun Kim and the National Brass Ensemble have released Deified, a new album showcasing brass music's exceptional coloristic and expressive range. The Pentatone release features world premiere recordings by Jonathan Bingham and Arturo Sandoval and Timothy Higgins’s The Ring, a virtuosic recomposition of Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen scored for brass ensemble.
Photo by Matthew Washburn / Skywalker Sound recording session
Critical Acclaim
“Sterling conducting from Eun Sun Kim, in what must have been an exhausting yet nevertheless exhilarating day for the performers. Much credit to Kim for guiding the musicians through their paces so expertly. For brass ensemble enthusiasts, it wouldn't be overstating it to say that Deified is a must-have. Listeners and brass players alike will be amply rewarded by their engagement with the release, especially when the level of musicianship is so high. That the NBE plays with such precision and unanimity is especially impressive when one considers that the outfit assembles sporadically.”
–Textura
“Deified may seem like a pretentious title for an album, even one dedicated to exploring all the range of glorious sounds an ensemble of brass instruments can produce. There is, however, some justification for the use of the word, which can be taken to refer to the sublimity of the music presented here. The National Brass Ensemble, consisting of some of the finest brass payers from orchestras across the United States, give a superb account of themselves in an album that will be of particular interest to brass aficionados but has more than enough sonic appeal to engage the general public.May we hear more from this ensemble?”
–Atlanta Audio Club
“Conducted by the ever-inspired Eun Sun Kim, the double album features splendid brass playing. A scintillating array of sonorities is drawn under Kim, whose firm grasp over musical blueprint is evident throughout, especially along the vast arch of The Ring, where pacing makes a huge difference. Similarly, her sound vision in the Bingham monolith serves its architecture remarkably well. Given a majestic reading, Strauss’s gorgeous Wiener Philharmoniker Fanfare displayed in full measure all that sonic vigor. Superlative performance, no less, The Ring is to be counted among towering achievements in the Wagner discography. Music theater in symphonic shape, performed with utmost mastery over instrumental narrative, the recording is nothing short of astonishing. A wondrous affair, Deified is an album like few others, thanks to their fusion of notable artistic merit and appealing instrumental virtuosity.”
–Adventures in Music
"The festivities of the night concluded with the spectacular rendition of the haunting Ave Signor chorus from Boito’s Mefistofele led by Kim, bringing the retrospective Concert to its glorious end. It was a perfect full-circle moment linking back to the beginning of the century and ending the era on a high note!"
-Parterre Box
“This is a performance very much worth hearing. The NBE with Eun Sun Kim truly delivers the goods…a showcase of the exceptional expressive range that brass can provide.”
–NativeDSD
"An engaging program by the National Brass Ensemble directed by Eun Sun Kim."
-Phil's Classical Reviews
"Eun Sun Kim confidently steers the sound and lets the sparks fly."
-Concerti
"The fantastic playing of the wind players conducted by Eun Sun Kim, who makes the work a masterful introduction to all the highlights of the four operas."
-Klassieke Zaken