The Z.E.N Trio BURNING THROUGH THE COLD

BURNING THROUGH THE COLD

 

DAN JONES On Chesil Beach (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

The album features the film’s original music composed by Dan Jones featuring solo violin by Esther Yoo. Also included are the classical pieces from the movie by Beethoven, Haydn, Elgar and Mozart.

In Dominic Cooke's On Chesil Beach, Saoirse Ronan plays Florence Ponting, a promising young violinist whose dream of a happy future with her new husband Edward Mayhew (Billy Howle) is derailed by the reality of their wedding night. For Ian McEwan, who wrote the original novel and subsequent screenplay, the role of music is essential. "My life is absolutely permeated by music," McEwan told NPR in an interview about the novel. "It is part of my own mental furniture so it often ends up being part of the fate and destiny of my own characters to either be musicians or for music to be something of a key to their characters." To unlock the importance of music for Florence, Cooke reached out to violinist Esther Yoo to play the music we hear when we see Ronan playing. Music has also been essential part of Yoo's life. Having started playing at age four, she performed her first concert at eight. In 2010, at age 16, she gained international attention when she became the youngest prizewinner of the 10th International Sibelius Violin Competition. From 2014 to 2016, she shone as a BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist and continues to be a bright star in the classical music world.

Esther Yoo / Philharmonia Orchestra / Vladimir Ashkenazy TCHAIKOVSKY

Esther Yoo reunites with conductor Vladimir Ashkenazy and the Philharmonia Orchestra for her latest release on Deutsche Grammophon. The album, which spotlights the music of Tchaikovsky, is out now.

"This album is special to me not only because of the musical vibrancy and depth in all of the works, but also because of what Tchaikovsky and his music symbolize," says Esther. "His compositions represent how a person who endures hardships in life can create music that gives voice to feelings which cannot easily be expressed. Every young adult experiences challenging periods of searching for identity, encountering love and facing new obstacles. During such times, I often turned to Tchaikovsky's music because I felt that he expresses the most tangible of human emotions."

The release features Tchaikovsky's beloved Violin Concerto alongside five shorter works, including Pas de Deux and Danse Russe from Swan Lake, Sérénade Mélancolique, Valse-Scherzo, and Mélodie from Souvenir d'un lieu cher.

Esther Yoo / Philharmonia Orchestra / Vladimir Ashkenazy SIBELIUS - GLAZUNOV Violin Concertos

Now in her second year as a BBC New Generation Artist, Esther Yoo first came to international attention in 2010 when, aged 16, she became the youngest prizewinner of the 10th International Sibelius Violin Competition. In 2012, the American-Korean violinist was also one of the youngest ever prizewinners of the Queen Elisabeth Competition. 

In 2015/16, Esther returns to the Philharmonia, BBC Philharmonic, BBC Scottish Symphony and Kansai Philharmonic orchestras and Orchestre National de Lille. She debuts with Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, RTÉ Symphony, Iceland Symphony and KBS Symphony orchestras. Esther also revisits South America, following her successful tour with the Philharmonia Orchestra and Vladimir Ashkenazy last season, performing with Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Colombia and Filarmonica de Jalisco. Chamber music highlights include her Wigmore Hall debut with regular collaborator Zhang Zuo, and recitals in Oslo, Liverpool and Istanbul.
Last season, Esther performed with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Hallé, Philharmonie Südwestfalen, Bilkent Symphony Orchestra (Turkey) and Gävle Symphony Orchestra (Sweden), while past highlights include performances with the Finnish Radio Symphony, Helsinki Philharmonic, Warsaw Philharmonic, Tenerife Symphony, Hong Kong Philharmonic and Seoul Philharmonic orchestras. In 2014, she made her London concerto debut with the Philharmonia Orchestra under the late Lorin Maazel, following their collaboration on a 2012 tour to China and Korea. More recently, she recorded the Glazunov and Sibelius concertos with the Philharmonia Orchestra and Ashkenazy which will be released this autumn by Universal Music.
Recent and upcoming festival appearances include the Ghent Festival of Flanders, Festival de Fénétrange, Seoul International Music Festival (featuring Bach’s Double Concerto with Maxim Vengerov), Festival du Château de Chambord (France) and Dvořák Prague Festival.
Born in the U.S. and raised in Europe, Esther began playing the violin at the age of 4 and made her concerto debut aged 8. In 2006, she was given First Prize in the Junior Section of the International Henryk Wieniawski Violin Competition and also the European Union Award for Music Art for Youth. She is currently a student of Ana Chumachenco in the Excellence Bachelor Programme at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Munich and of Augustin Dumay in the Artist Diploma Programme at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel in Brussels. Prior to this, she worked with Zakhar Bron, Leonid Kerbel and Berent Korfker.

Esther plays the 1704 “Prince Obolensky” Stradivarius, generously lent to her by a private collector.