Esther Yoo - Bruchs Vioolconcert & Brahms’ Symfonie nr. 1

Esther Yoo returns to Amsterdam with Bruch

"This concert has so much to offer," says violin virtuoso Esther Yoo about Bruch's lyrical First Violin Concerto. 'It has been one of my favourite pieces since childhood.' She plays it on her latest album with Deutsche Grammophon with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Esther Yoo has been heard in Het Concertgebouw before, such as last season with Glazoenov's Violin Concerto and with her own ZEN Trio. Now the endearing American violinist returns with Bruch.

Brahms' Symphony No. 1

"I will never write a symphony," the young Brahms once said, because he was impressed by the success of his predecessors Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven. Fortunately, after the age of forty, Brahms eventually wrote four symphonies, each more beautiful than the last. He worked on his First Symphony, intermittently, for more than twenty years. Brahms may have been unsure about the reception, but from the first bar, it is clear that it is an original masterpiece, full of contrasting melodies and timbres.