“Sometimes the three players engaged in a dance with a Chopin-esque elegance and energy; sometimes coming together for a collective drive towards a fiery climax; and only occasionally withdraw together for a moment of silence and introspection. It was a marvel and if anyone in the audience wasn’t melted they certainly would have been by the encore, a particularly sentimental arrangement of Danny Boy.”

Ivan Hewett, The Telegraph

Beethoven Triple with Sheku Kanneh-Mason, Benjamin Grosvenor, Royal Northern Sinfonia, April 2023

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“It was an exemplary evening of violin and piano, of the highest quality in every respect. As respective masters of their instruments and in the breathtaking interplay of their ensemble playing both - the wonderful violinist Hyeyoon Park and the fabulous pianist Benjamin Grosvenor - fulfilled the duties of higher virtuosity as once formulated by the legendary cellist Emanuel Feuermann: “Virtuoso should be a title of honour and I believe that, even among the greatest on the stage today, only a few deserve it. To be a virtuoso means to have the greatest playing ability, to respect the work of art, and to have the capacity to bring one's own personality meaningfully to the work of art." 

Harald Eggebrecht, Süddeutsche Zeitung, May 2022

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“Mit der Interpretation dieser beiden Werke durch Hyeyoon Park lag man auf jeden Fall nahe beim Original. Schon die Gestaltung der heiklen Mehrfachgriffe gleich zu Beginn dokumentierte jene spieltechnische Souveränität, welche den ganzen Auftritt zu einem eindrücklichen Erlebnis werden liess. Dazwischen fand die Solistin in den spieltechnisch weniger exponierten Zwischenteilen jene innere Ruhe, welche beim Nachvollzug auch ohne Unterbrechungen die Gliederung in verschiedene Sätze ermöglichte. Als Zugabe erklang ein schlichter Barocksatz, welcher andeutete, dass Hyeyoon Park auch für andere Stilepochen Gleichwertiges leisten kann.“

Luzerner Zeitung, September 2021

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“… Höhepunkt ist Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdys Violinkonzert von 1822, bei dem die Koreanerin Hyeyoon Park auf virtuose Weise einen romantischen Ton vorgibt. Das sanfte Wechselspiel mit dem Orchester ist hervorhebenswert, alle ziehen an einem Strang. Am Ende des fast zweistündigen Abends gibt es viel Applus"

Berliner Morgenpost, Young Euro Classic Festival, July 2021

 

'Neben technischer Brillanz und mitreißendem virtuosem Feuer betörte eine einmalige natürliche Süße im Ton frei von Sentimentalität. Hyeyoon Park schmachtet und kitscht nie. Mit dem tollen britischen Jungpianisten Benjamnin Grosvenor bildet sie ein Weltklasseduo. Das zeigten Karol Szymanowskis "Mythes von 1915, deren Farbenreichtum und raffinierte Melodielinienführung nicht nur eine grenzenlose Klangempfindlichkeit verlangt, sondern auch erzählerische Gestaltungskraft. Den drei Sätzen liegen antike Stoffe zugrunde, wie sie Ovid in seinen Metamorphosen ausfabuliert hat. In der "Quelle der Arethusa" geht es um Bedrängung und Verfolgung der Nymphe durch den Flussgott Alpheus. Diana rettet Arethusa durch Verwandlung in eine Quelle. Bei Park/ Grosvenor ein hocherregtes Abenteuer. Dagegen "Narziss", der sich gleichsam somnambul in sein Spiegelbild verliebt bis in den Tod. Zuletzt Pans Spiel mit den Dryaden, wenn er mit seiner Flöte, in Geigenflageolets konkretisiert, das funkelnde Treiben magisch bannt, so wie die beiden Musiker die Zuhörer.'

Harald Eggebrecht, Süddeutsche Zeitung, Oct 2020

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'César Franck’s Violin Sonata – the second half of the programme – was a simultaneous showcase of Park’s huge palette of tone...her unaccompanied passages in the recitative-fantasia movement had all the poise of solo Bach (albeit on a Parisian opium trip).'

The Guardian, June 2020

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'She played ‘Fountain of Arethusa’ with glimmering, silver-toned purity high on the E string; ‘Narcissus’ was smoothly seductive, and ‘Dryads and Pan’ danced nimbly in double-stopped roulades. In Franck’s Sonata, portamentos and little dynamic swells shaped the first movement; the second had energy and panache, the Recitativo–Fantasia unfolded with rhythmic freedom. The finale had grandeur, with a fine dash to the finish.'

The Strad, June 2020

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'The Szymanowski gave Park the chance to shine in a range of iridescent colours. Her refinement of tone in "The Fountain of Arethusa" blossomed out into a rainbowed intensity, and the piping effects in "Dryads and Pan'" which are treacherous high harmonics, were flawlessly projected.'

The Arts Desk, June 2020

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“After two substantial courses, a delicate bouchée closed the hour. Schumann’s Abendlied was a tribute to the strength of Park and Grosvenor’s musical partnership; they shared its gentle romance with control, eloquence and a loving interlace of violin and piano that could hardly be bettered.”

Bachtrack, June 2020

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'Die Koreanerin Hyeyoon Park ließ Eggerts Gedanken dazu zunächst wie ein respektvolles Herantasten an die Tradition wirken, quasi improvisatorisch und zugleich archaisch-karg, vom Intimen in einen großen konzertierenden Ton übergehend und in Bogenform wieder zurückkehrend. [Enrico] Pace...im Zusammenwirken mit der furios aufspielenden Violinistin hatte das im Kopfsatz etwas Radikales, extrem Dringliches, in den Kontrasten zum Lyrischen heftig Geschärftes, klanglich stählern, wie es auf historischen Instrumenten nicht denkbar wäre. Der Charme und die Leichtigkeit der Variationen des zweiten Satzes und die spielerische Polyphonie im Finale bildeten ein angemessenes Gegengewicht zu diesem Ansatz.'

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, October 2019

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“The South Korean virtuoso violinist Hyeyoon Park … intones Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto with an expressive passion, as if it had only just been written.”

Kerstin Holm, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, July 2018

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“The highlight was Bartók’s Rhapsody. The musicians opened the work in a nimble, powerful and danceable manner … The second, faster part became a wild dance after an elegant entrance. This was as skillful as their playful dialogue.”

Ralf Snurawa, Haller Tagblatt, May 2018

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“She played the Prokofiev concerto confidently by heart and with enchanting lyric intonation…  She showed high virtuosity in the following wild scherzo, then again expressive intonation and brilliant passages in the finale.”

Gerhard Deutschmann, Coburger Tageblatt, January 2017

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“Five Memos for violin and piano is based in ideas from Italo Calvino’s essays Six Memos for the Next Millennium… Each of the five movements relates to ideas from one of the essays, or you can listen to the music simply as fascinating character pieces. Lightness has a high suspended violin above an undulating piano, textures spare yet full of incident. Quickness has a busy, angry violin in dialogue with calmer piano, with a sense of contrast in the musical material. Exactitude has a long slow violin line, finely spun out by Hyeyoon Park,  with spare piano chords giving a sense of suspension to the violin. Visibility combines a strong, elaborate violin part with glittering, rippling piano in a striking texture. Finally Multiplicity gives us a sense of the disparate voices, despite the busy material. Fine performances from Hyeyoon Park and Huw Watkins bring out the rich incident which Bowden gets from his two instruments…. The performances from Hyeyoon Park, Huw Watkins, Julian Warburton, Oliver Coates, the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and Grant Llewellyn are exemplary. Highly recommended indeed.”

Robert Hugill, Planet Hugill, December 2016

 

“Pianist Huw Watkins and violinist Hyeyoon Park are poised and expressive in the Calvino-inspired Five Memos — the third movement, Exactitude, is breathtakingly simple and played with masterful stillness.”

Kate Molleson, Gramophone, December 2016

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“The violin skills of this 22-year-old South Korean are extraordinary; they are almost perfect. Her technique and control are breath-taking, resulting in some highly focused music-making.”

Martin Fahlbusch, Neue Westfäliche, May 2016

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“Sometimes, concerts are full of magic. Such a moment was the opening of Sibelius’s Violin Concerto, when 22-year-old violinist Hyeyoon Park’s notes rose like a silent column of smoke. Suddenly, the world seemed to hold its breath and a perfect calm descended on the audience. The Korean played with a wonderful tone, full and round.

Its purity and clarity was a fascinating contrast to the warm, dark sound from the orchestra. Everyone here played with soul. The soloist was inseparably interwoven with the orchestra.”

Anna Mönks, Neue Westfäliche, December 2015

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“Mendelssohn’s vivid and lyrical violin concerto, a well-known delicacy from the solo repertoire, was performed this season by a young Korean violinist with a bright future. Hyeyoon Park created a firework of virtuosity and a measure of unusually quiet yet fiery ingenuity in this loved work. She is a great talent who has potential for refinement.”

Carlhakei Larsen, Sydsvenskan, March 2015

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“One of the most promising violinists of her generation, Hyeyoon Park is totally at one with her instrument. In Concerto No. 3 by Camille Saint-Saëns she resolutely cast herself into the Romantic mainstream.”

Reiga Paavola, Kymen Sanomat, March 2015

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“Musicianship of the highest order.”

Gavin Engelbrecht, The York Press, February 2015

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“Hyeyoon Park, the South Korean violinist who made her debut with orchestra at the tender age of nine, showed all the personality, technique and sheer musicianship, which her reputation promised. With her naturally flowing style, she graced the melodic themes in Prokofiev’s second Violin Concerto, with its most enjoyable rondo conclusion, complete with castanets to accompany the main theme.”

Rob Barnes, The Journal, January 2015

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“This was my first look at soloist Hyeyoon Park who is emerging as one of the leading violinists of her generation. Standing elegantly on the stage wearing a stunning red gown, the South Korean born virtuoso provided some gorgeous and assured playing. Park’s Lorenzo Storioni violin from Cremona (1781) projected a large, magnificent singing tone that easily filled each corner of the hall. Her performance of the beautiful central movement Adagio contained a tenderness that bordered on the sensuous.”

Michael Cookson, Seen And Heard International, February 2013

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