Young Jo Lee was born in Korea in 1943. After studying at Yonsei University in Seoul he continued his composition studies with Carl Orff and Wilhelm Killmayer in Munich, and later enrolled for further postgraduate study at Chicago’s American Conservatory of Music in 1986.
Jo Lee’s compositional style is engaging and readily accessible, and, not unsurprisingly considering his Western training, is deeply rooted in European tradition. It is perhaps not unexpected either that the European musical influences that inform his style are those which either share, or have themselves drawn strongly from, certain oriental musical principles. Debussy, and to a lesser extent early Messiaen, seem to me to be the most apparent influences running through Jo Lee’s work, although elsewhere Kodaly, Janaeek and even John Ireland also come to mind.
The Dance Suite incorporates rhythmic devices from several traditional Korean dance forms, though strangely, even ironically perhaps, the effect is that of a Western composer’s assimilation of these elements rather than a Korean’s. There is undeniable charm and poignancy in Jo Lee’s music, as the movements ‘Children’, ‘Lovers’ and ‘Buddhists’ demonstrate, and the Five Korean Legends, too, are imbued with much atmosphere. What one really longs for, however, is a sense of individuality. Even the Variations on a Theme by Schubert ultimately strike the listener as simply a mini-tour of the impressionist and post-impressionist influences that Jo Lee has absorbed but never quite transmuted into a personal musical voice. My Kim’s performances are sensitive and beautifully crafted throughout, and are complemented by a very natural sound-recording.'