ASO: Rachmaninoff's Second Symphony

• Yeol Eum Son, piano
• Dmitry Matvienko, conductor

Young conducting sensation Dmitry Matvienko, winner of the prestigious Malko Competition for Young Conductors, leads the ASO in a tasty rarity, the sassy Piano Concerto written by the 25-year-old Benjamin Britten. The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra welcomes Korean virtuoso Yeol Eum Son, a pianist with "power and passion, fireworks and drama aplenty" (Limelight), in her first Atlanta performances. On the second half of the program, Matvienko leads the ASO in the fragrant Symphony No. 2 by Sergei Rachmaninoff.

Performances on May 2 & 4.

About Atlanta Symphony Orchestra (ASO)

The ASO consistently affirms its position as one of America’s leading orchestras, educating and engaging through great musical performances featuring outstanding artists.

The Orchestra is known for the excellence of its live performances, renowned choruses, and its impressive list of GRAMMY® Award-winning recordings. The leading cultural organization in the Southeast, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra serves as the cornerstone for artistic development and music education in the region.

About Yeol Eum Son, piano

In high demand as recitalist, concerto soloist, and chamber musician, Yeol Eum Son has won critical plaudits for the profound insights and intelligence of her interpretations. Her development as an all-round artist has gained from collaborations with conductors around the globe.

Born in Wonju, South Korea in 1986, Yeol Eum Son 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.

Yeol Eum attracted international attention when she secured second prize and the Best Chamber Music Performance at the 2009 Van Cliburn Competition. She underlined her position among the most gifted artists of her generation at the 2011 International Tchaikovsky Competition, where she won the Silver Medal and received the coveted competition's prizes for Best Chamber Concerto Performance and Best Performance of the Commissioned Work.

About Dmitry Matvienko, conductor

Dmitry Matvienko is the winner of the 2021 edition of the prestigious Malko Competition for Young Conductors with First prize and Audience prize. Previously, he was awarded with the Critics and the Made in Italy prizes at the International Conducting Competition Guido Cantelli.

Matvienko received his first music lessons at the age of six 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 he studied conducting at the Moscow Conservatory.

In 2017, Dmitry Matvienko became a member of the conductor internship programme of the National Philharmonic Orchestra of Russia (chief conductor Vladimir Spivakov). He assisted and prepared several programmes for chief conductor Vladimir Jurowski, Vasily Petrenko and Michail Jurowski with Svetlanov Symphony Orchestra.

While conducting concerts with the Svetlanov Symphony, the National Philharmonic of Russia, the New Russia State Symphony Orchestra (chief conductor Yuri Bashmet) and the Moscow Chamber Orchestra "Musica Viva," Dmitry conducted revivals of Prince Igor, Faust, Iolanta, La Traviata, The Tsar's Bride, The Firebird, and Verdi's Requiem at the National Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre of Belarus.