For someone who is not yet 30, American violinist Esther Yoo is thoroughly cosmopolitan. Describing herself as ‘tri-cultural’, she was born in the US to South Korean parents, who relocated first to Belgium when she was six, and later to Germany. It was only during the pandemic, however, that she finally got to spend a significant amount of time in her ancestral homeland, finding herself unexpectedly locked down in South Korea. For the acclaimed musician who shot to prominence as the youngest prize-winner of the 2010 International Sibelius Violin Competition and one of the youngest ever prize-winners of the Queen Elisabeth Competition in 2012, it was a time for reflection away from the unrelenting demands of an international touring lifestyle.

Esther Yoo

Esther Yoo. Photo © Je-Won Kim

“It’s definitely been a moment of transition,” she explains over Zoom from her home in Brussels. “Things have changed in terms of what audiences want and what artists want to do. Everything is still shifting – I don’t think even now we can say how things will be for concerts in the future.”

Not only is Yoo a leading international soloist, but she also...