HankyeolYoon

Press

• Maggio Musicale Fiorentino Debut

  Florence, Italy

  Feb 2024

  • In the first part of the evening, the programme unfolded through an entirely Brahmsian repertoire, inaugurated with the 'Overture for an Academic Feast', rendered by Yoon particularly effectively in its more triumphalist tones; this was followed by two pieces with the additional contribution of the choir, the 'Lament op. 82' and the 'Song of Destiny op. 54'. While in the first piece, the conductor's ability to recreate the soberly solemn atmosphere emerged, in the second, Yoon outlined its meditative atmosphere with intensity, thanks to the excellent performance of the Maggio choir and an orchestra that was well shaped in terms of dynamics and timbre. There is no doubt, however, that Yoon's talents were fully manifested in Dvorak's Eighth Symphony, tackled by the young Korean conductor with passionate enthusiasm and, at the same time, with firm control of the orchestral masses; we recall, above all, the Adagio, splendidly designed in its expressive country stillness (the woodwinds were excellent here), interrupted by moments of greater dynamic force, and the Allegro finale, in which Dvorak's vitalistic spirit in Yoon's baton exploded in all its intensity, unleashing the enthusiasm of an audience (unfortunately not a large one) present in the Metha hall.

    • Pensalibero
    • 15 February 2024

  • Moving but appropriate gestures, he holds the Orchestra and Chorus of the Maggio firmly in place: the former responds to him with polish, fine solo sorties, enthusiasm; the latter with compactness and adhesion. Yoon is finally a conductor who knows how to make the music breathe, not throttle it, and shapes it with a flexibility of accents and dynamics that goes well with the generosity of the resulting sound. As for the results, the evening is a crescendo

    • Corriere Fiorentino
    • 13 February 2024