Yeol Eum Son

Yeol Eum Son is a pianist renowned for her elegance, sensitivity to expressive nuances, and the ability to convey dramatic contrasts. Her refined style demonstrates impressive technical control and an empathetic understanding of the emotional temperaments in the works she interprets. Driven by a natural curiosity to explore various musical genres and styles, she seeks to unveil what she describes as the “pure essence” in everything she performs.

In high demand as a soloist and chamber musician, Yeol Eum has received glowing reviews for the depth of her interpretations. Her evolution as a versatile musician has been enriched through collaborations with conductors such as Lorin Maazel, Dmitri Kitajenko, Valery Gergiev, Antonio Pappano, Andrew Manze, and the Norwegian Eivind Aadland.

Son gained international attention in October 2004, at the age of 18, when she performed as a soloist, presenting Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 1 with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Lorin Maazel during their Asia tour. She collaborated with Maazel and the New York Philharmonic again when they returned to the Seoul Arts Center in February 2008, this time as a soloist for Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 2.

Son has also distinguished herself as a significant musician through her recordings, including Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 21 with Sir Neville Marriner and the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, which became Marriner’s final recording before his passing.

In addition to her career as a pianist, Son has made a mark as the Artistic Director of Music at the PyeongChang Festival, one of South Korea’s largest classical music festivals. She was acclaimed for her creative and innovative programming and has also been a prolific writer with a monthly column in JoongAng Sunday, one of South Korea’s most widely read newspapers. These written contributions were later compiled and published as a book in 2015.