“…a player of Paganini-like sensationalism…”

“Yoo’s slender but burnished tone proved fully in sync with the rhapsodic lyricism of [Glazunov’s Violin Concerto].”

“Yoo has a prodigious clarity of diction. Everything, even in the fastest passages, is heard with crystal clarity. Chords and passages of double or triple strings sound exact and with immaculate attacks, and the richness of nuance and colour is frankly remarkable.”

“Yoo floats […] with a moving tendresse that subtly pulls the listener into a magical world of half-whispered correspondences…”

“As individual artists, each of the three was magnificent. As a trio they were transcendent.”

“Esther Yoo is a very original violinist, possesses a very clear phrasing, perfect intonation, and gave Bruch’s concerto that mix of intimacy and folk joy in the last movement, very characteristic of the work.”

“She was vibrant-toned in Beethoven’s opening Allegro con brio and delicate in the following Adagio cantabile, while maintaining her big sound. In the Scherzo again there was strength, with crisp rhythms and the final Allegro was urgent and driving.”

“Esther Yoo chose Henri Vieuxtemps’ Souvenir d’Amerique as the show-stopping encore, a reminder that achieving wonderful feats of bravura with a smile is home territory for her. Going rather deeper, Kreisler’s Recitativo and Scherzo-Caprice, possibly the highlight of the evening, brought out a wonderful instinct for pacing, and a deep sense of the freedom, invention and glorious sound she can muster.”

“This was the second time I’d heard American-Korean violinist Esther Yoo play the Tchaikovsky concerto and the second time I’d been impressed by the poise and stillness of her playing. The tone of her 1704 ​“Prince Obolensky” Stradivarius is remarkably clean, her tuning impeccable, and she dashed through Tchaikovsky’s concerto with a good deal of panache.”

“The [Glazunov Violin] concerto’s structural beauty, seamlessly melding its movements through a variety of moods and textures, was matched by Yoo’s exquisite sensitivity, and a palpable emotional rigour and maturity incredibly impressive in a musician so young.”

“Esther Yoo has recorded [Glazunov’s Violin Concerto] with Ashkenazy and the Philharmonia. She has increased in confidence as a proselytiser for the work (…) Together they offered a convincing reading that begs the question why this Concerto is not heard more often, especially with Yoo’s Stradivarius with its satisfyingly sweet tone to enhance Glazunov’s invention.”

“she gave a peerless, flawless rendition of Bruch’s Violin Concerto in G Minor…she captured all the piece’s hauntingly melodious serenity, expressed in the most elegiac cadances… If the audience was deeply moved by the first two slow movements, the excitement of the finale was palpable…Her fingers were a mesmeric blur, soaring onwards and upwards towards the final thrilling ascending accelerando. The applause was thunderous”

“Making her RSNO debut, violinist Esther Yoo was completely at home with the orchestra as she performed Mendelssohn’s violin concerto with tight dexterity and balanced grace and a tone which was lean yet strong, deliberate yet gentle. Her cadenzas sparkled, with seriously impressive ornamentation and silkily subtle double-stopping, though it was her dialogue with the orchestra which really showcased her command of the music.”

“Esther Yoo, who has already played with the Philharmonia Orchestra under the direction of Vladimir Ashkenazy and Lorin Maazel, moved perfectly to the pulse of Pablo Heras-Casado — dynamic and with an emphasis on the melodic character of the work….which was well exploited by the violinist demonstrating scrupulous technique and sweeping passion.”

“this is the finest version [Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto] to cross my path in the past year… Her dark, aristocratic tone is treasurable…She plays with compact vibrato and can pare her sound down to a fine pianoissimo without her 1704 ​‘Prince Obolensky’ Stradivarius ever sounding undernourished…”

“There was a magical moment in the Bruch Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor, played just before intermission. It came at the start of the slow second movement: a brief pause, a slight intake of breath, the lush opening notes taken so softly as to be barely audible. The impressive soloist, Esther Yoo, played with cool but expressive incisiveness. Her tone, compact and refined, with a fast, subtle vibrato, displayed an inspired kind of classicism that suits this emotive music perfectly.”

“Yoo commands a rich tone that can be pared to something silver-fine and her dynamic range is wide while her technique is excellent and music-serving. … Yoo is very expressive throughout, she is as intensely poised and then as fiery as you like, and her full timbre in high-lying passages is notable. It’s a smouldering account, biding its time to full emotional release, first in the unstintingly sympathetic orchestra and then in a full-on cadenza, Yoo unfazed by its technical hurdles.”

“It’s easy to see what all the fuss is about in relation to the young Esther Yoo… What strikes you most is the richness of Yoo’s tone, combined with a radiant intensity in the Sibelius concerto, and joie de vivre in the Glazunov. She oozes confidence, rhythmic vitality, and a natural expressiveness that gives every phrase an engaging presence and freshness of thought.”

“There are times when a standing ovation feels like a courtesy…This was not the case on Friday evening when the young violinist Esther Yoo had the audience on its feet. Dazzling technique, empathy and presence. Everything was there.”

“The performance of the young American violinist Esther Yoo led [the listener] into the serene, contemplative world of Mozart. [The violinist’s playing was] wonderfully sensitive and highly musical, combined with technical perfection, a secure instinct for the musical period and a great joy in making music. Add to that the beautiful sound of her violin, bright and silvery – the tone slightly grainy, the depths resonating and the highs floating.”