Yeol Eum Son: Meno mosso

“Since birth, I’ve been the slow-paced type,” Yeol Eum Son tells Apple Music Classical. “Maybe that’s why I find myself unable to keep pushing ahead at full steam, even when I’m at my busiest. I’ve always needed a rest from time to time. I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s like this.” The pianist, a tireless performer in South Korea and abroad, has selected a playlist that is all about turning down the tempo. Its title “Meno mosso” is a musical term calling for a slower tempo compared to the preceding section; and so the music here invites listeners to take a step back from life and catch their breath. “I put together this playlist for people who felt vertigo from the sheer ongoing churn of the world, or those who felt a little lost,” says Son, “like they were unable to keep up with everybody else in terms of effort. For me, that’s what music is—a companion for those moments when you want to take a pause from reality and retreat into your own world. I hope you’ll find this playlist to be such a companion.” Son’s selection is filled with performances by women, including Alicia de Larrocha, Myra Hess, Maria Grinberg and Eileen Joyce, although this was not her initial intent. “It was only after I was done with the selection of piano pieces that I realised it was mostly female pianists,” she explains. “That was unexpected. It’s not that I liked them because they were women. I would have enjoyed their music just as much had they been male. That said, as a female pianist myself, I do feel occasionally that those earlier female musicians really paved the way for those who would follow.” The playlist also includes some of Son’s own performances. One standout she mentions is Grieg’s Violin Sonata No. 3 from her 2019 album with Svetlin Roussev, Midnight Bells. Son’s idea for that project was to put together background music suiting various times and spaces—the perfect fit for this playlist. Other choices comprise assortment of works centred on the theme of rest, all adding up to that sense of intimacy and warmth that the pianist hopes to impart.