}Review of Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 3, Nation Cymru, October 2022“Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 3 was played with mesmerising aplomb by the South Korean pianist Yeol Eum Son. Her memorable performance met with a riot of appreciation by all sections of the audience.”
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Following her well-received debuts in both New Zealand and Australia in autumn 2022, the charismatic South Korean pianist Yeol Eum Son returns to both nations in early 2024 to perform Mozart’s sublime Piano Concerto No. 24 in C minor and Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor, widely considered to be one of the most technically challenging piano concertos of the Romantic repertoire.
On Thursday 22 February, Yeol Eum Son opens Auckland Philharmonia’s 2024 Bayleys Great Classics series with one of Mozart’s greatest piano concertos under the baton of the Orchestra’s Music Director Giordano Bellincampi. A great exponent of Mozart’s piano repertoire and renowned for her thoughtful musicianship, this performance offers audiences the chance to witness Yeol Eum Son’s breathtaking agility and the intelligence of her interpretation of this intimate and introspective piece.
Having impressed Tasmanian audiences with her performance of Chopin in 2022, Yeol Eum Son now brings what is deemed the “Mount Everest” of Rachmaninov’s four piano concertos – his Piano Concerto No. 3 - to Federation Hall on Friday 1 March, reuniting with conductor Eivind Aadland and the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra. This epic concerto has become a staple of Yeol Eum Son’s repertoire and she is looking forward to performing it both in Tasmania, but also with West Australian Symphony Orchestra and Asher Fisch on Friday 8 and Saturday 9 March in Perth, marking her debut with the Orchestra.
Yeol Eum Son says about her return:
“It is so exciting to be back in Auckland and in Hobart, Tasmania where I felt privileged to make my debuts recently, especially to play again under two great Maestros: Maestro Bellincampi and Maestro Aadland! And I am thrilled to be making my debut in Perth. I love so many things about this part of the world! The diversity is amazing, and the nature and the landscape are deeply captivating.”
“It is such a pleasure to perform two marvellous piano concertos on this visit - I love many concertos but these two could really be my favourite. Mozart’s C minor concerto is such a mysterious beauty - I am always astounded by its uncertainty. “Rach three” is, in my opinion, a fantasy. This concerto is like Rachmaninov’s own diary which contains lots of the composer’s “personal” stories.
Thursday 22 February 2024
Great Hall, Auckland Town Hall, Auckland, New Zealand, 7.30pm
Yeol Eum Son piano | Giordano Bellincampi conductor | Auckland Philharmonia
Rossini The Barber of Seville: Overture
Mozart Piano Concerto No. 24 in C minor
Beethoven Symphony No. 7 in A major
Friday 1 March 2024
Federation Concert Hall, nipaluna / Hobart, Australia, 7.30pm
Yeol Eum Son piano | Eivind Aadland conductor | Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra
Finsterer Lumen prime aurore
Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor
Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 6 in B minor, ‘Pathétique’
Friday 8 March, Saturday 9 March 2024
Perth Concert Hall, Perth, Australia, 7.30pm
Yeol Eum Son piano | Aaron Wyatt / Asher Fisch conductors | West Australian Symphony Orchestra
Wyatt The Coming Dawn
Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor
Strauss Ein Heldenleben