Opening Concert with Berlin Symphony Orchestra
BERLIN SYMPHONY
ORCHESTRA
ORCHESTRA
Dubai, UAE
On Thursday 1st February 2024, the InClassica International Music Festival makes its return to the UAE, as South Korean pianist Yeol Eum Son, a Prize Winner at the 2011 Tchaikovsky International Piano Competition, and the 13th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition (2009), arrives in Dubai to headline a special opening concert alongside the Berlin Symphony Orchestra and Norwegian conductor Eivind Gullberg Jensen. Opening with Johannes Brahms’ Hungarian Dance No. 1, the first of a set of 21 lively and energetic works based on Hungarian folk themes, the evening will then continue with Composer-in-Residence Alexey Shor’s 2019 work From My Bookshelf, a suite for piano and orchestra consisting of a series of eight musical portraits inspired by a number of seminal literary figures. Finally, the orchestra will conclude with Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6, also known as the Pathétique Symphony, which marks the legendary composer’s final completed symphony, and was premiered by Tchaikovsky himself a mere nine days before his death in 1893.
Newly announced as Chief Conductor of the Noord Nederlands Orkest (starting from 2022/23 season) and Artistic and General Director of Bergen National Opera since 2021, Eivind Gullberg Jensen is equally comfortable on the concert platform as the opera house stage.
An experienced conductor with an extensive repertoire range, he is recognised for his knowledgeable and insightful interpretations. Following a majority vote by the orchestra musicians, his new role in The Netherlands runs for an initial period of three years.
During the 2021/22 season, Jensen debuts in North America with Orchestre symphonique de Québec and Utah Symphony Orchestra, and in Europe with Orquesta Sinfónica de Tenerife and Wermland Operas Orkest. He returns to Copenhagen Philharmonic Orchestra, Kristiansand Symfoniorkester, Filharmonia Poznańska, Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte Carlo, and twice visits Noord Nederlands Orkest, including a performance at the historic Het Concertgebouw in Amsterdam.
2020/21 season highlights include the French premiere of Waiting, a dramatised concert based on Peer Gynt by Calixto Bieito and Karl Ove Knausgård, with soprano Mari Eriksmoen in Strasbourg’s Opera National du Rhin, and debut with Copenhagen Philharmonic Orchestra.
Jensen has previously conducted the Berliner Philharmoniker, Münchner Philharmoniker, Hamburger Symphoniker and WDR Sinfonieorchester in Germany, Amsterdam’s Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Vancouver, North Carolina and Oregon symphony orchestras in North America, and further in Europe the Royal Stockholm and Netherlands Radio philharmonic orchestras, Orchestre de Paris and Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich.
Over recent seasons he has worked with internationally renowned soloists such as Leif Ove Andsnes, Truls Mørk, Alice Sara Ott, Javier Perianes, Hélène Grimaud, Gautier Capuçon, Sol Gabetta, Alban Gerhardt, Hilary Hahn, Gabriela Montero, Emmanuel Pahud, Yefim Bronfman, Alexander Toradze, Vadim Repin, Viktoria Mullova, Renaud Capuçon, Frank Peter Zimmermann, Mari Eriksmoen, Charlotte Hellekant, Albert Dohmen or Guy Braunstein.
Previous opera highlights include, Festival d’Aix-en-Provence with the new Simon McBurney production of The Rake’s Progress, the Wiener Staatsoper with Tosca and Rusalka, Opéra de Lille with Die Zauberflote and Der fliegende Holländer, Teatro dell’Opera di Roma with Rusalka, English National Opera with Janáček’s Jenůfa, a double-bill of Il tabarro and Djamileh (directed by David Pountney and Christopher Alden) in Lyon, Il corsaro and Rusalka for Opernhaus Zürich, Fidelio with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Bayerische Staatsoper and as part of the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden, as well as Rusalka, Eugene Onegin and La bohème (in Stefan Herheim’s production) at Den Norske Opera.
Eivind Gullberg Jensen studied conducting in Stockholm with Jorma Panula, and in Vienna with Leopold Hager. Previously, he studied violin and musical theory in Trondheim, Norway.
Yeol Eum Son’s graceful and timeless interpretations, crystalline touch and versatile, thrilling performances have caught the attention of audiences worldwide. Praised for her widely eclectic concerti repertoire, ranging from Bach, all-Mozart, early German and Russian Romantic to Gershwin and Ligeti, Yeol Eum has collaborated with major ensembles worldwide such as Gürzenich-Orchester Köln, Konzerthausorchester Berlin, Dresdner Philharmoniker, The Tonkunstler Orchestra at the Grafenegg Festival, Bergen Philharmonic, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Seoul Philharmonic, St. Petersburg Philharmonic and Moscow Virtuosi among many others.
Yeol Eum performs with conductors such as Dmitri Kitayenko, Valery Gergiev, Vasily Petrenko, Vladimir Spivakov, Andrew Manze, Susanna Mälkki, Omer Meir Wellber, Cristian Măcelaru, Pietari Inkinen, Jonathan Nott, Mikko Franck, Nicholas Collon, Joshua Weilerstein, Joana Carneiro, Pablo González, Case Scaglione, Roberto González-Monjas and Yan Pascal Tortelier.
Across the 20/21 season Yeol Eum serves as Artist in Residence with the Residentie Orkest from the Hague. In front of the Dutch audience and under the baton of conductors Nick Collon, Pablo González and Joshua Weilerstein, Yeol Eum presents a selection of some of the finest concerti of the piano repertoire including Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 17, Beethoven's Piano Concerto No.4, Chopin's Piano Concerto No. 2 and Ravel's Piano Concerto in G. Beyond Zuiderstrandtheater in the Hague, her residency will take her to some of the major venues across the Netherlands including Amsterdam's Concertgebouw, Apeldoorn's Orpheus and Utrecht's TivoliVredenburg, Yeol Eum also gives a recital at the Hague's Nieuwe Kirk and a Masterclass at the Hague's conservatory.
In summer 2019 Yeol Eum made her Royal Albert Hall and BBC Proms debut with the BBC Philharmonic interpreting Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 15. Her most recent debut with the Liverpool Philharmonic (Beethoven’s Emperor Concerto) was met with high acclaim for which Johanna Roberts wrote: Yeol Eum Son throughout demonstrated the technical excellence partnered with lyrical sensitivity that have made her one of the most sought-after concert pianists in a virtuoso performance that was much appreciated by the audience. During her recent UK tour with the Iceland Symphony Orchestra, Yeol Eum returned to London’s Cadogan Hall and debuted at Edinburgh’s Usher Hall and at Basingstoke’s the Anvil Concert Hal (Ravel’s Piano Concerto for the left hand). Following her hugely successful debut with Aurora orchestra earlier in 2019, Yeol Eum © 2017 IMG Artists; Please do not make alterations to this biography without contacting IMG Artists. was instantly re-invited and features as a soloist on their March 2020 tour under Nick Collon (Mozart Piano Concerto No.23) with concerts taking place at King’s Place in London as well as at St George’s concert hall in Bristol and at the Apex concert hall in Bury St Edmunds. Yeol Eum subsequently makes her debut with Aurora Orchestra at the opening of the Heidelberger Frühling festival.
A distinguished Mozart interpreter, in the recent concert seasons, Yeol Eum made major UK debuts with the CBSO in Birmingham (Mozart’s Piano Concerto No 21) and at London’s Cadogan Hall with the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields (Mozart’s Piano Concerti No’s 8 & 21). Her London debut coincided with Onyx CD release of a highly acclaimed all-Mozart recording featuring Mozart’s Piano Concerto No.21 with the Academy of St Martin in the Fields under Sir Neville Marriner for whom it was the very last recording. According to The Times Yeol Eum Son is a model of clarity and fleetness whilst Gramophone called the recording an uncommonly fine Mozartian debut.
Further concerti debuts across the 19/20 season and beyond include collaborations with Budapest Festival Orchestra (Rachmaninov No. 2); West Australian Symphony Orchestra (Mozart No. 21); New Zealand Symphony Orchestra (Mozart No. 27); St Paul Chamber Orchestra (play-direct of Beethoven No.4); Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra (Beethoven No.4); Liège Philharmonic (Gershwin Rhapsody in Blue and Variations on I got Rhythm); Helsinki Philharmonic (Yashiro Piano Concerto); WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne at the RadiRo Festival in Bucharest (Rachmaninov No. 2); Philharmonie de Paris debut with Orchestre National d'Île-de-France (Rachmaninov No.2); RTVE Symphony Orchestra (Szymanowski Sinfonia Concertante) and a tour of Belgium with the Flanders Symphony Orchestra (Liszt No.1). Following her previous successful collaborations, Yeol Eum returns to Gävle Symphony Orchestra (Chopin No.2), Bergen Philharmonic (Rachmaninov No.2), Gürzenich Orchestra Cologne (Prokofiev No.2) and Deutsche Radio Philharmonie Saarbrücken (Prokofiev No.3).
A sensitive, emotional and powerful recitalist, Yeol Eum gives frequent solo and chamber performances across the globe. Most recent recitals include debuts with San Francisco Chamber Music Society, The Phillips Collection in Washington DC, Helsingborg Piano Festival, International Piano Series Fribourg, Istanbul Recitalleri, Moscow's House of Music, Welsh debut at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama and Scottish recital debut at the East Neuk Festival for which The Scotsman presides Yeol Eum for having found that vital emotional connection with the music and physically embracing its raw energy and dynamic extremes with ferocious virtuosity. In the 19/20 season and beyond Yeol Eum makes recital debuts in Luzerne's KKLSaal, Bern's Paul Klee Centre, Porto's Casa da Música, Belgrade's Kolarac Concert Hall and at the Tallin Piano Festival.
An avid chamber musician, in 2018 Yeol Eum was appointed Artistic Director of Music in PyeongChang, the biggest music festival in her native Korea. Yeol Eum is responsible for programming both summer and winter festivals at the Olympic site in PyeongChang. Further chamber highlights in 2020 include appearances at Philharmonie Cologne for collaborations with the principle players from WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne (Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4 arranged for Piano and String Quintet) and with Quatuor Modigliani. © 2017 IMG Artists; Please do not make alterations to this biography without contacting IMG Artists. Yeol Eum’s new releases include two DECCA albums: recital CD Modern Times- featuring solo piano music written between 1910-1920 by Berg, Prokofiev, Stravinsky and Ravel, and Schumann and Brahms CD with violinist Clara-Jumi Kang. Previous albums include debut CD of complete Chopin Etudes (2004); Chopin Nocturnes for Piano and Strings (2008); prize-winning Cliburn Competition live performance (2009) and a multi-channel SACD O’ New World Music (2012).
Yeol Eum is Honorary Ambassador of the Seoul Arts Center and her home city of Wonju. A double Second Prize winner at the Tchaikovsky International Piano Competition in 2011 and at the 13th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 2009, Yeol Eum Son was a student of Arie Vardi at the Hochschule für Musik Theater und Medien Hannover in Germany, where she now lives. She holds a degree from the Korean National University of Arts.
For more than five decades, the Berliner Symphoniker have been an integral part of Berlin's musical and cultural life and have enriched the German orchestra landscape. Since 1990 they have been the orchestra for all Berliners.
In addition to the popular and long-established symphony concerts that take place in the Berlin Philharmonic, the Berliner Symphoniker perform throughout Berlin and the surrounding area: They are regular guests at the Konzerthaus Berlin, the University of the Arts, the Berlin Cathedral, the Kulturbrauerei and the Chorin Monastery, among others. With guest performances in Europe and tours to North and South America, Africa and Asia as well as appearances at international festivals (including in France, Italy, Austria, Spain and Israel), the Berliner Symphoniker have presented themselves successfully worldwide and see themselves as Berlin's cultural ambassadors.
In addition to the classical, wide-ranging and popular range of concerts, the repertoire of the Berliner Symphoniker also includes special rarities - unknown and forgotten works as well as contemporary compositions.
Music communication as a special focus has always been a trademark of the orchestra. It was the Berliner Symphoniker, for example, who were the first orchestra in Berlin to develop a music education profile with school concerts and children's and family concerts and who established and promoted work with young people in the long term. Numerous CD recordings and television recordings round off the multifaceted work of the Berliner Symphoniker.
