Violinist Esther Yoo to Release LOVE SYMPOSIUM On Deutsche Grammophon

Esther Yoo, one of the world's leading violinists, will celebrate Valentine's Day with the release of Love Symposium, her most personal album yet, available February 12 on Deutsche Grammophon. The centerpiece of the album, which features London's Royal Philharmonic Orchestra led by the preeminent conductor Long Yu-the most powerful figure in China's classical music scene-is the Serenade after Plato's Symposium, one of Bernstein's most lyrical and enduring orchestral works.

Each of Yoo's selections for Love Symposium is a portrait of a different kind of love-a reflection of love in all its guises, from the philosophical ideas found in the Symposium to the love of nature, family, friends, significant others, and, most importantly, "the ever-evolving love we learn to give ourselves," according to the program note by the London-based Yoo, the RPO's first artist-in-residence. "We often think of love in music as something purely romantic and idealized, but I wanted to create a sound world where we experience real love-the blissfully transcendent, the powerfully intoxicating, the gut-wrenchingly painful, and everything in between."

For his five-movement Serenade, from 1954, Leonard Bernstein was inspired by the speeches from the Symposium, which explores the nature and purpose of love as seen through the minds of a few of the great thinkers of ancient Athens. Through expansion and refinement of melodic ideas, Bernstein imitates the text's arguments about the different facets of love. The opening theme, for solo violin, reappears throughout the piece and is examined from different perspectives. "The Serenade was a piece that I had the opportunity to learn two or three years ago," says Yoo, herself taking inspiration from the Symposium. "It has taken me to a lot of places, including my New York Philharmonic debut in February 2024."

Love Symposium also features a new chamber arrangement by Iain Farrington of the Adagietto from Mahler's Symphony No. 5. "We are taking a bit of a risk rearranging it," says Yoo, who plays the solo part and leads the chamber group. "It has very much a personal connection to me, which inspired me to create an intimate chamber version" for solo violin, harp, and seven string players. Originally scored for strings and harp, the Adagietto was a love letter from Mahler to his wife, Alma.

Ralph Vaughan Williams' The Lark Ascending "has a connection with love of nature," explains Yoo, while Elgar's classic Salut d'amour-"love letter," or "greeting of love"-is the best of his many short pieces for violin. The album closes with Benj Pasek and Justin Paul's song "Never Enough," also arranged by Farrington, from the 2017 film The Greatest Showman. "I wanted to include a modern piece relating to love," says Yoo. For her, the song represents "the human need and desire for connection and love in our lives, not only with others but with ourselves."

"As I share these intimate musings through music, I invite you to open your own heart and mind to the love that has shaped you. Whether it has brought you joy or sorrow, laughter or tears, healing or heartbreak, how beautiful it is that we can all connect through love-across time, experience, and music."

Esther Yoo: Love Symposium

LEONARD BERNSTEIN

Serenade (after Plato's "Symposium")

1) I. Phaedrus - Pausanias: Lento - Allegro marcato (07:05)
2) II. Aristophanes: Allegretto (05:15)
3) III. Erixymachus: Presto (01:36)
4) IV. Agathon: Adagio (07:33)
5) V. Socrates - Alcibiades: Molto tenuto - Allegro molto vivace (11:03)

RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS
6) The Lark Ascending (15:25)

GUSTAV MAHLER
7) Adagietto From Symphony No.5, new chamber arrangement by Iain Farrington (09:12)

EDWARD ELGAR
8) Salut d'Amour (03:31)

PASEK & PAUL
9) Never Enough, from "The Greatest Showman," new arrangement by Iain Farrington (03:59)

Esther Yoo, violin
Long Yu, conductor
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

Recording: 19, 20, 22, 23, September 2024, Henry Wood Hall, London
Producer: Christopher Alder
Engineer: Jonathan Stokes/Classic Sound

Deutsche Grammophon (4879449)

Watch the Adagietto from Mahler's Symphony No. 5 here; stream here.