As described by The Strad, “Esther Yoo is the model of a violin soloist in the modern age. Intelligent, articulate and self-possessed, she is so much more than a technical virtuoso.”
Yoo began playing the violin when she was four and made her concerto debut at age eight. At 16, she became the youngest prize-winner of the International Sibelius Violin Competition and, two years later, one of the youngest ever prize-winners of the Queen Elisabeth Competition. In 2014 she was selected as a BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist and, in 2018, was selected as one of Classic FM’s Top 30 Artists under 30. In 2020 she was named one of 20 notable musicians to watch by WQXR.
She performs with leading conductors—including Vladimir Ashkenazy, Gustavo Dudamel, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Myung-Whun Chung, Thierry Fischer, Karina Canellakis and Andrew Davis—and orchestras such as the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Philharmonia, BBC Symphony, Seoul Philharmonic, Deutsche Radio Philharmonie Saarbrücken Kaiserslautern and Royal Liverpool Philharmonic. She has performed at a range of prominent festivals, including BBC Proms and Aspen Music Festival, and has appeared in recital at Lincoln Center and Wigmore Hall. The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra appointed her as their inaugural Artist-in-Residence in 2018, through which she participated extensively in educational and outreach projects, alongside concert performances in London and across the UK.
Yoo recorded the Sibelius, Glazunov and Tchaikovsky concertos for Deutsche Grammophon, which will soon release her recordings of Bruch and Barber. She featured prominently on the soundtrack and accompanying disc of the feature film On Chesil Beach and is a guest artist on pianist Chad Lawson’s double album breathe, both released by Decca Records and recorded at Abbey Road Studios.
Deutsche Grammophon also released two recordings by Z.E.N. Trio, which she founded together with fellow former BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artists Zhang Zuo and Narek Hakhnazaryan, with whom she tours widely in North America, Europe, Asia and Australia. The first album includes works by Brahms and Dvořák; and was followed by Burning Through the Cold, featuring piano trios by Shostakovich, Babajanyan, Rachmaninoff and Khachaturian.
Yoo may be unique among classical soloists in being fully tri-cultural. She was born and spent her earliest years in the U.S. before receiving her education in Belgium and Germany, but she proudly retains her family’s Korean heritage. Having authentic roots in three continents contributes to her versatility and an exceptionally broad range of expression and is unquestionably a factor in making her one of the most articulate and gifted communicators in the field of classical music.
Recent years have brought many opportunities for Yoo to demonstrate those skills. She curated a two-hour special program for BBC Radio 3 and is a frequent contributor to BBC Music Magazine, Gramophone, The Arts Desk and The Strad, which featured her on the cover of its August 2021 edition. She writes not only about repertoire and practice techniques, but also about less commonly explored areas such as the mental health and wider well-being of musicians. She hosts a video series on YouTube, Artist Confidential, where she talks with artists like Miloš, Narek Hakhnazaryan and Julia Bullock on the hopes, fears and perspectives of artists in the classical music space today. She also created a three-part video series Journey Through Violin with Esther Yoo, in collaboration with Kyobo Nobiliaire Arts & Culture, available to watch in Korean on its YouTube channel.
Photo credit: Je Won Kim