Meet Esther Yoo

You first performed with the Philharmonia in 2012 and have collaborated with the Orchestra many times since then. Are there any standout memories from your previous concerts with us?

My long-standing relationship with the Philharmonia is very dear to me and every occasion making music together is special. Some standout memories would be touring with the Philharmonia and the late Maestro Lorin Maazel (my first ever tour!) and recording two albums together for Deutsche Grammophon with Maestro Ashkenazy.

As a soloist you frequently travel across the world. What’s your favourite thing about touring?

Luckily, I love travelling and exploring the world! I’m a big foodie so I’m always eager to try new cuisines, the local food and I love engaging with people wherever I am.

You’re performing across three of our residencies: Basingstoke, Leicester and Canterbury. What are the perks and challenges of performing the same piece, back to back, in different locations?

It’s a great opportunity to play a concerto multiple times back-to-back because every concert is different – the acoustics in the venue are different, the mood of the musicians and the audience are different, my own condition is different, so it’s fun to adapt and explore different ways of playing the same piece. In this manner I feel like the piece develops after a tour and I continue to evolve as a musician as well.

Tell us more about your relationship with Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No. 1.

After being very familiar with Prokofiev’s Second Violin Concerto for a while, Prokofiev’s First Violin Concerto is a newer addition to my repertoire but one that I became captivated by instantly. The legendary violinist Joseph Szigeti once said that he was fascinated by the mixture of “fairy‑tale naïveté” and “daring savagery” conveyed throughout this concerto. I think this juxtaposition carried out by sounds, colours, textures, rhythms and techniques is what makes this concerto so enjoyable to listen to and to perform.

Are there are moments we should listen out for in particular in the concerto?

Look out for the moments of “daring savagery”, particularly in the first and second movements as they are really fun to experience. Those are a few moments in this concerto that are meant to be acerbic or ugly and as a performer I have to sometimes go against the usual training of producing beautiful tone and do the absolute contrary. I don’t get to do it that often on the violin and it’s quite fun!

What three things are you listening to at the moment?

I’m almost always listening to something if I’m not playing myself. Lately I’ve been enjoying a recording of Bernstein’s Serenade by Isaac Stern and the New York Philharmonic, various recordings of Brahms’s Sextet in G Major Op. 36 and one of my favorite podcasts Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend.