Pianist Yeol Eum Son and conductor Lio Kuokman make a joint debut with the Brussels Philharmonic at Festival Musiq3 on 29th June. The evening will include repertoire that spans from polished French classicism to the creative dynamism of American jazz.
Yeol Eum performs Ravel’s Concerto for the Left Hand which features in her recently released album by Naïve records Ravel: Piano Concertos – Bach / Wittgenstein. Gershwin’s renowned Rhapsody in Blue will also take the stage as a central piece which marries both jazz and classical music in irresistibly rhythmic and vibrant fashion. To open the concert, Lio Kuokman will lead the orchestra in Ravel’s Spanish Rhapsody, a piece which offers a rich and warm soundscape. To end the evening, Lio Kuokman conducts Ravel’s La Valse, evoking a thrilling rush of dramatic orchestral intensity.
This concert reunites Yeol Eum Son with Lio Kuokman, following their recent collaboration in Slovenia at the closing of the first season of Lio Kuokman’s tenure as the Chief Conductor with the RTV Slovenia Symphony Orchestra. In Ljubljana, their joint concert featured a programme comprised of Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 3, Lajovic’s evocative A Dream and Sibelius’ Symphony No. 2.
Shortly upcoming is Yeol Eum Son’s New York orchestral debut with the Festival Orchestra of Lincoln Center as part of Summer for the City, and her New York recital debut at Carnegie Hall later in the year. Further highlights of the 25/26 season feature debuts and repeat collaborations across four continents: In the United States and Canada Yeol Eum Son will collaborate with the New World (Miami), Atlanta, Oregon and Vancouver Symphonies; In the UK with the London Philharmonic, BBC Symphony, and Scottish Chamber; In Europe with the Danish National, Swedish Radio and Bilbao Symphonies; and further afield with the Singapore and São Paolo State Symphonies, Israel and Hong Kong Philharmonics.
Lio Kuokman currently serves as Music Director and Principal Conductor of the Macao Orchestra, Programme Director of the Macao International Music Festival and Resident Conductor of the Hong Kong Philharmonic. Having forged a very successful collaboration with Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo in the previous seasons, Lio returned twice this season to the Auditorium Rainier III with two contrasting programmes focusing on the music of Shostakovich, Mussorgsky, Rachmaninov, Berstein, Gershwin and Barber. Also, a regular guest conductor with the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland, Lio once again returned to the National Concert Hall in Dublin for his fourth collaboration with them in the 24/25 season. Across 25/26 season, Lio makes debuts with the Castilla y León Symphony and returns to Monte Carlo Philharmonic, National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland, NHK Symphony, Orchestra Ensemble Kanazawa and Kansai Philharmonic among many others.
Educated at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, the Juilliard School, the Curtis Institute of Music and the New England Conservatory, Kuokman is a founding member and President of the Macao Chamber Music Association. For his contributions to the development of arts and culture, Kuokman received a Certificate of Commendation and Medal of Cultural Merit from both governments of Hong Kong and Macao. In 2021, Kuokman was the recipient of the Hong Kong Ten Outstanding Young Persons award.
Watch Yeol Eum Son performs Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue with Gergely Madaras