When the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra returns to Hodgson Concert Hall on May 5 at 3 p.m., it will have two stunning young artists in tow.
Virtuosic young pianist Yeol Eum Son is the soloist in Benjamin Britten’s cheeky Piano Concerto from 1938. The conductor is Dmitry Matvienko, who will also lead one of the most beloved pieces of orchestral music, Rachmaninov’s “Second Symphony,” with its famously lush slow movement.
Son, born in Wonju, South Korea, in 1986, received her first piano lessons at the age of three-and-a-half. She was among the prize winners at the International Tchaikovsky Competition for Young Musicians in 1997 and won the Oberlin International Piano Competition two years later. Son studied at the Korea National University of Arts and continued her training with Professor Arie Vardi at the Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover.
Over the past decade, Son has achieved global acclaim particularly for her interpretations of Mozart’s piano concertos. A YouTube video of her performance of Mozart’s “Piano Concerto No. 21” at the International Tchaikovsky Competition has been viewed almost 23 million times, thought to be a record figure for any live Mozart work on the platform.
Matvienko is the winner of the 2021 edition of the prestigious Malko Competition for Young Conductors with the first prize and audience prize. Previously, he was awarded with the critics and the made in Italy prizes at the Guido Cantelli International Conducting Competition.
Matvienko received his first music lessons at the age of 6 before undergoing a formal training as a chorister and chorus master. He studied choral conducting at the St. Petersburg Conservatory, and he was a member of the MusicAeterna Choir at the Perm Opera and Ballet Theatre under the artistic direction of Teodor Currentzis from 2012 to 2013. In the following years, Matvienko studied conducting at the Moscow Conservatory and attended master classes of Gennady Rozhdestvensky, Vladimir Jurowski, Teodor Currentzis and Vasily Petrenko.
Under the leadership of Music Director Nathalie Stutzmann, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra (ASO) offers live performances, media initiatives and learning programs that unite, educate, and enrich our community through the engaging and transformative power of orchestral music experiences.
The orchestra’s range and depth are featured in more than 150 concerts each year, including the flagship Delta Classical Series, Movies in Concert, Family Concerts, Coca-Cola Holiday series and many community and education concerts. The ASO presents many vibrant, wide-ranging events and artists through its Delta Atlanta Symphony Hall Live presentations. Outside of the concert hall, the ASO’s Behind the Curtain video concert series enables the orchestra to reach audiences beyond city limits.
Audience members can enjoy a pre-performance talk by Naomi Graber in Ramsey Concert Hall from 2:15-2:45 p.m.
This performance is supported by the Kleiner Foundation.
Three ways to get tickets
- Purchase tickets online at pac.uga.edu.
- Call the Performing Arts Center box office at 706-542-4400, Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Visit the UGA Performing Arts Center box office, Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (five-minute parking is available in the drop off circle at the Performing Arts Center for purchasing or picking up tickets.)
Single tickets begin at $25, and UGA student tickets are just $10. Parking is free.
To learn more about all UGA Performing Arts Center events, visit pac.uga.edu.
