Program

Mendelssohn Overture to Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage

Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1 

Brahms Symphony No. 2 

About the Conductor

Edward Gardner

Edward Gardner has been Principal Conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra since September 2021, recently extending his contract until at least 2028. He is also Music Director of the Norwegian Opera & Ballet, and Honorary Conductor of the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, following his tenure as Chief Conductor from 2015–24.

In demand as a guest conductor, in 2024/25 season Edward appeared with the Bavarian Radio Symphony, Frankfurt Radio, Dallas Symphony, New World Symphony, Minnesota, Seoul Philharmonic, Sydney Symphony and West Australian Symphony orchestras. Debuts in recent seasons have included with the New York Philharmonic, the Philadelphia and Cleveland Orchestras, and the San Francisco Symphony, Staatskapelle Berlin, Berlin Radio Symphony and Vienna Symphony orchestras. In the UK, he has had longstanding collaborations with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, where he was Principal Guest Conductor from 2010-16, and the BBC Symphony Orchestra, whom he has conducted at both the First and Last Night of the BBC Proms.

Born in Gloucester in 1974, Edward was educated at the University of Cambridge and the Royal Academy of Music, and gained early recognition as Assistant Conductor of the Hallé and Music Director of Glyndebourne Touring Opera. His many accolades include the Royal Philharmonic Society Conductor of the Year Award (2008), an Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in Opera (2009) and an OBE for Services to Music in The Queen’s Birthday Honours (2012).

About the Pianist

Yeol Eum Son

Poetic elegance, an innate feeling for expressive nuance and the power to project bold, dramatic contrasts are among the arresting attributes of Yeol Eum Son’s pianism. Her refined artistry rises from breathtaking technical control and a profound empathy for the emotional temper of the works within her strikingly wide repertoire. She is driven above all by her natural curiosity to explore a multitude of musical genres and styles and the desire to reveal what she describes as the “pure essence” of everything she performs. Yeol Eum refuses to impose limits on her artistic freedom and remains determined to explore new artistic territory. Her choice of repertoire, which spans everything from the works of Bach and Mozart to those of Shchedrin and Kapustin, is guided chiefly by the quality and depth of the music.

In high demand as recitalist, concerto soloist and chamber musician, Yeol Eum has won critical plaudits for the profound insights and intelligence of her interpretations. Her development as an all-round artist has been gained from collaborations with conductors as diverse as Lorin Maazel, Dmitri Kitajenko, Valery Gergiev, Sir Antonio Pappano, Andrew Manze, Jaime Martin, Jun Märkl, Roberto González-Monjas, Jonathon Heyward, Ryan Bancroft, Pablo Gonzalez, Pietari Inkinen, Eivind Aadland, Joana Carneiro, Anja Bihlmaier, Dima Slobodeniouk, Gergely Madaras, Alexander Shelley, Dmitry Matvienko, Yutaka Sado, Maxim Emelyanychev and Omer Meir Welber.

Yeol Eum 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. Yeol Eum studied at Korea National University of Arts and continued her training with Professor Arie Vardi at the Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover.

About the Orchestra  

London Philharmonic Orchestra

The London Philharmonic Orchestra’s mission is to share wonder with the modern world through the power of orchestral music, which it accomplishes through live performances, online, and an extensive education and community programme. Balancing a long and distinguished history with its reputation as one of the UK’s most forward-looking ensembles, the LPO is internationally recognised as a leading world-class orchestra demonstrating excellence, versatility, invention and inclusivity in all that it does.

The Orchestra is resident at the Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall. It also has flourishing residencies in Brighton, Eastbourne and at Saffron Hall in Essex, and performs regularly around the UK. 2024 marked the 60th anniversary of the Orchestra’s residency at Glyndebourne Festival Opera, where is has been Resident Symphony Orchestra every summer since 1964. The Orchestra also tours worldwide, performing to sell-out audiences at the world’s leading concert halls and festivals.