Yeol Eum Son returns to the BBC Proms on 13 August at Royal Albert Hall. The sold-out concert features her acclaimed interpretation of Gershwin’s Piano Concerto in F Major with frequent collaborator, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, and conductor James Gaffigan. Listen on BBC Radio 3 and BBC Sounds from 19:00 UK time. Yeol Eum will speak about her Proms appearance on BBC Radio 3’s In Tune on Wednesday, 12 August, at 18:20. Her recent concerts with the symphony include Prokofiev’s Second Piano Concerto in December 2024 and Bartók’s Third Piano Concerto and Finzi’s Eclogue with conductor Sakari Oramo on 13 March 2026, both at London’s Barbican Centre; and a five-date South Korean tour with Oramo in March 2026. Yeol Eum made her BBC Proms debut with the BBC Philharmonic and conductor Omer Meir Wellber in 2029, performing Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 15.
Yeol Eum then closes her successful 2025/26 season with 3 concerts with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and conductor Nicolas Ellis (21 – 23 August), performing Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 and in recital as part of the Harris International Piano Series in at Elder Hall in Adelaide (28 August).
UK audiences will have further opportunities to see Yeol Eum in the 2026/27 season. She returns to London’s Wigmore Hall for a lunchtime recital on 1 October with a compelling programme featuring works by Paderewski, de Larrocha, Landowska, Nikolayeva, Kempff, Weissenberg, Gieseking, Gulda and Wild. She joins Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and conductor Andrew Manze on 25 November, performing Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 22 K. 482 at the Poole Lighthouse; and returns to the BBC Symphony Orchestra, this time with Joshua Weilerstein conducting Rachmaninov’s Third Piano Concerto at London’s Barbican Centre on 7 May 2027.
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. She is known for her refined artistry, breathtaking technical control, and a strikingly wide-ranging repertoire that spans from J. S. Bach and Mozart to Ligeti and Kapustin. She is in demand around the world as recitalist, concerto soloist and chamber musician and continues to deepen her artistry through frequent collaborations with many of today’s leading conductors.
Recent and current engagements include debuts with the Finnish and Swedish Radio Symphony orchestras, the Brussels, Dresden, Helsinki, Liverpool, London, Los Angeles and Oslo Philharmonic orchestras, Atlanta, Baltimore, Danish National, Detroit, Galicia and St Louis Symphony orchestras, Symphony Orchestra of the Casa da Música (Porto), Gulbenkian in Lisbon and São Paulo State Symphony Orchestra. She regularly collaborates with the National Symphony Orchestra Ireland, Hague Residentie Orchestra, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Singapore, Sydney and Melbourne Symphony orchestras and National Arts Centre Orchestra, Ottawa.
As recitalist and chamber musician, recent highlights have included appearances at the Edinburgh International Festival, International Chopin Festival and Wigmore Hall. Her latest recording features Ravel’s two piano concertos coupled with Paul Wittgenstein’s Bach arrangements. Born in Wonju, South Korea, Yeol Eum Son studied at Korea National University of Arts, continuing her training with Arie Vardi in Hanover. She won Second Prize and Best Chamber Music Performance at the 2009 Van Cliburn Competition and took the Silver Medal at the 2011 International Tchaikovsky Competition.
Photo: Credit Andrew Castro @acastrophoto by permission of the Los Angeles Philharmonic