Esther Yoo set to release new recording of Bruch and Barber Violin Concertos with Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and Vasily Petrenko (26 January 2023)

On 26 January 2023, violinist Esther Yoo is set to release a new recording on Deutsche Grammophon with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and their Music Director Vasily Petrenko, featuring Bruch’s Violin Concerto in G minor and Samuel Barber’s Violin Concerto. Also on the album is Bruch’s Adagio Appassionato and Vieuxtemps’ Souvenir d'Amerique, Op.17 “Yankee Doodle”. It was recorded in November 2021 at Henry Wood Hall and at the Watford Colosseum, and produced by multiple Grammy Award winner Christopher Alder.

In 2018, Esther was the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra’s first ever Artist-in-Residence and performed the Bruch Violin Concerto with the orchestra at London’s Cadogan Hall and Hull City Hall in September 2018 as part of her residency. The Yorkshire Times described how she ‘captured all the piece’s hauntingly melodious serenity expressed in the most elegiac cadences exquisitely counterpointed by the sixty-strong RPO...’. Her previous concerto recordings on Deutsche Grammophon have been well received including praise from Gramophone who wrote: “I’ve reviewed the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto many times recently and this is the finest version to cross my path in the past year.”

“It is a true privilege and joy to be releasing a new album for Deutsche Grammophon together with the RPO, who are a major part of my musical journey, and with Maestro Vasily Petrenko whose leadership and passion never fails to inspire me”, comments Esther Yoo. “Bruch and Barber both carry great significance - Bruch's Violin Concerto being my childhood favourite concerto and Barber's Violin Concerto being a work I fell in love with in early adulthood. I am also excited to share two lesser known but stunning works, Bruch's Adagio Appassionato and Vieuxtemps' “Yankee Doodle”. The latter piece especially has a special place in my heart as it brings back early childhood memories of singing the "Yankee Doodle" tune on car rides with my father when we lived in the U.S. Together, all of the works on this album represent much of my cultural upbringing in the U.S., Belgium and Germany. This album feels like a beautiful melting pot of my past and present in terms of relationships, repertoire and the journey of finding my own voice.”

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Esther Yoo: Bruch & Barber
(digital release 26 January 2023 on Deutsche Grammophon)

Esther Yoo violin | Vasily Petrenko conductor | Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

Bruch Violin Concerto No.1 in G minor, Op.26
Barber Violin Concerto, Op.14
Bruch Adagio Appassionato
Vieuxtemps Souvenir d'Amerique, Op. 17, “Yankee Doodle”