A New Year's concert without the obligatory waltzes. This year, Beethoven's oeuvre will be on the music stands almost everywhere in the world on the occasion of his 250th birthday. Symfonieorkest Vlaanderen toasts with 'Happy New Year Beethoven' not only to the new year but immediately also to the merits of this maestro par excellence. Bubbles for the new year and the celebration of this birthday with on top of that a sparkling soloist.
Under the baton of the young French guest conductor, Symfonieorkest Vlaanderen, in complete lineup, opens this New Year's concert with a work by Gioacchino Rossini with the 'Overture' from the opera 'Guillaume Tell'. An overture consisting of four movements: Prelude, Storm, Ranz des Vaches and Finale. An interpretation that in terms of structure, dynamics and orchestral dosage creates an entire world. A top-notch performance!
In a smaller lineup, Symfonieorkest Vlaanderen performs as the second work the 'Romance No. 2 for Violin' by Ludwig van Beethoven. Concertmaster Maxim Kosinov plays his instrument with tender intimacy and lets tones of supreme bliss resound.
And then it is the turn of soloist Yeol Eum Son, born and raised in South Korea. She received her first piano lesson when she was three and a half years old. And then things went quickly… At the age of eight, she played one of Mozart's great piano concertos in Boston. At sixteen, she exchanged her hometown for Seoul. While many of her musical friends went to Europe or the US early on, she studied at the Korean National University of Arts with prominent Asian pedagogues. To further develop her skills, she moved abroad. This is how she ended up with Israeli pedagogue Arie Varda in Hannover. She received her first international attention when she appeared as a soloist with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra in 2004.
By now she has performed all over the world with the most renowned orchestras. In addition, she also holds a leadership position. Since 2018, she has been artistic director of the Pyeongchang music festival. She also gained fame as a columnist for a Korean newspaper, through which she wants to make her music accessible to a wide audience.
Yeol Eum Son, visiting Belgium for the first time, is the embodiment of Eastern elegance and grace. She looks fragile, but what strength lies in this small, delicate woman! In her interpretation, she is not afraid of nuance, nor of effect, all sensuality. In the 'Piano Concerto No. 1, S. 124' by Franz Liszt, she caresses and hammers the keys. In her deeply felt playing, her long black hair sweeps through the air. The energy and conviction with which she plays is intense, fascinating and gripping in an explosion of sound. Music as magical fuel. A virtuoso piece in which this South Korean pianist shines in a beautiful ensemble with the orchestra. Her performance was honored with enthusiastic and prolonged applause. As a thank you, the audience received an encore.
After the intermission, the opening theme of Ludwig van Beethoven's 'Symphony No. 5, opus 67' was programmed. Everyone knows the opening notes ta-ta-ta-ta, ta-ta-ta-ta…. The Fifth Symphony was very innovative at the time and not only because of the opening notes. Incomprehensible greatness and painful sorrow are unbearable to mankind; they require order. Beethoven succeeds in wrapping the inexplicable in a masterful work. Symfonieorkest Vlaanderen delves into the various emotional nuances of this composition in a refined and clear performance. That Beethoven, with the opening notes of this composition, invokes fate, as his biographer Anton Schindler claimed, remains far away with such a transparent interpretation!
- WHAT: Happy New Year Ludwig!
- WHO: Symfonieorkest Vlaanderen, conductor Adrien Perruchon, soloist Yeol Eum Son
- WHERE & WHEN: deSingel, January 26, 2020
- PHOTOS: mt
