Sunwook Kim
About this Artist
Sunwook Kim came to international recognition when he won the prestigious Leeds International Piano Competition in 2006, at age 18, becoming the competition’s youngest winner in 40 years as well as its first Asian winner. Since then, he has established a reputation as one of the finest pianists of his generation, appearing as a soloist with some of the world’s leading orchestras, including the Berliner Philharmoniker, London Symphony Orchestra, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Staatskapelle Dresden, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Minnesota Orchestra, Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester, Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, Finnish Radio Symphony, Philharmonia Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, BBC Orchestra of Wales, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, NHK Symphony Orchestra, Hallé Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra for his BBC Proms debut in summer 2014.
In the 2024/25 season, Kim continues as Music Director of the Gyeonggi Philharmonic Orchestra, with which he conducts works from Mozart and Beethoven to Strauss, Bartók, and Unsuk Chin. Kim also makes his conducting debuts with the Iceland Symphony, Armenian National Philharmonic, and Israel Philharmonic orchestras. Recent conducting highlights include the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, KBS Symphony, Macao Orchestra, Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra, George Enescu Philharmonic, and Filharmonia Śląska (Poland).
Play-directing from the piano, highlights of the season include an extensive tour of Europe and South Korea with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe. As soloist, Kim returns to the subscription season of the Los Angeles Philharmonic and as part of the Seoul Festival curated by Unsuk Chin. Further recent concerto highlights include collaborations with the London Symphony Orchestra, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, and Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra.
In recital, Kim collaborates with violinist Janine Jansen in a European tour with a Brahms and Schumann program.
Sunwook Kim’s debut recital disc, released on the Accentus label in October 2015, features Beethoven’s “Waldstein” and “Hammerklavier” sonatas. A CD featuring Unsuk Chin’s Piano Concerto (2014) attracted outstanding reviews and awards from BBC Music Magazine and International Classical Music Awards.
Born in Seoul in 1988, Sunwook Kim completed an MA in conducting at the Royal Academy of Music and was subsequently made a fellow (FRAM) of the academy in 2019. Besides Leeds, honors include first prize at the 2004 Ettlingen International Piano Competition (Germany) and the 2005 Clara Haskil International Piano Competition (Switzerland).