Beethoven's Eroica and the Emperor at the Jersey Shore

TOMS RIVER, N.J. - May 9, 2019 - PRLog -- The Garden State Philharmonic, under the direction of Music Director & Conductor Diane Wittry, performs an evening of Beethoven at the Jersey Shore. The Philharmonic will be featuring two of Beethoven's most famous and revolutionary works, Symphony No. 3 "Eroica" and Piano Concerto No. 5 "Emperor". The GSP is privileged to welcome world renowned guest artist Ko-Eun Yi as the piano soloist. The performance will take place Saturday, May 18^th, at 7:00 p.m. at The Jay & Linda Grunin Center for the Arts on the campus of Ocean County College in Toms River, NJ.

The Eroica Symphony, composed in 1803, explores what it means to be human. In facing his own demons and choosing to continue making music while going deaf, Beethoven embraced the heroic in every man and, ultimately, in himself. This symphony defined a new, expansive, bold and daring compositional style that has gone on to impact and influence the likes of Schumann, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, and Mahler to name a few.

Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 5 begins with the intense statement of an E-flat major chord, hearkening back to the opening chords of the Eroica Symphony. Composed between 1809-1811, the Emperor Concerto could be considered either the last great concerto in the classical style or, because of its immensely powerful gestures, the first of the great 19th-century romantic concertos. The Garden State Philharmonic is honored to welcome Ko-Eun Yi to the Grunin Center stage for this exciting performance.

Korean pianist Ko-Eun Yi, a winner of the CAG Victor Elmaleh Competition, has earned praise for playing with "élan and fire and a surplus of bravura technique" (Cincinnati Enquirer). She has garnered numerous top prizes in her young career, with recent successes at the 2010 World Piano Competition in Cincinnati and the 2010 Wideman International Piano Competition in Jackson, Mississippi. The Washington Post applauded her recent debut recital in DC: "a masterful technician … Her finger-work was immaculate, inner voices were keenly drawn out, and there was no lack of power when needed."

She has been featured on WQXR's long-running Young Artists Showcase program, including a live interview and performance in studio, and she was also invited to participate in WQXR's June 2016 Chopin Piano Marathon, with a live video-stream of her performances of Chopin's Ballade No.1 and Scherzo No.1, followed by later audio broadcast.

The Cincinnati Enquirer praised her Gold medal-winning concerto performance at the World Piano Competition: "…a fantasy world of shimmering sounds and colors. Her playing was at once flawless and dazzling…" Additional recent concerto highlights for Ko-Eun include performances with the Barcelona, Jerusalem, and Boston, Roswell and New West Symphony Orchestras, the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Aspen Concert Orchestra, working with such conductors as Lawrence Foster, Leon Fleisher, and Christopher Wilkins, and Marcelo Lehninger. She toured South America playing Saint-Saëns concerto No. 2 with the New England Youth Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Benjamin Zander.

Born in Seoul, Korea, Ko-Eun Yi began her piano studies at the age of three. She earned her Bachelor and Master of Music degrees at The Juilliard School studying with Jerome Lowenthal and completed her Professional Studies degree with André-Michel Schub at Manhattan School of Music. She earned a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Stony Brook University School of Music, as a student of Christina Dahl.

The performance will take place on Saturday, May 18^th at 7:00 p.m. at The Jay & Linda Grunin Center for the Arts, 1 College Drive, Toms River, NJ. Tickets are available at http://www.gardenstatephilharmonic.org/buy-tickets or by calling 732-255-0460, or at the door the day of the performance.

The Garden State Philharmonic Symphony Society, Inc. (GSP) is dedicated to a mission of maintaining and operating a professional symphony orchestra at the Jersey Shore; to giving concerts of cultural and educational value in and for the community; and to fostering such related activities that will encourage interest in and appreciation of music.