HYUNG-KI JOO – piano
The pianist and composer Hyung-ki Joo channels his creative energy into developing new concert formats and bringing classical music closer to a wide audience. He steps into the spotlight in many roles: as pianist, conductor, artistic director, communicator, mentor, and composer.
He has performed as soloist with the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, the Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Vienna Symphony, and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Recent highlights include conceiving and directing the opening of the 2023 Wiener Festwochen and leading the Hong Kong Sinfonietta in his project Haydn Seek. Together with Asmik Grigorian, he created A Diva is Born, which caused a sensation at the Vienna State Opera in 2024 and was celebrated at the Salzburg Festival in 2025.
His compositions have been performed by renowned orchestras and soloists including the New York Philharmonic, the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, Emanuel Ax, Daniel Hope, and Yuja Wang, and recorded by Shani Diluka and the Ahn Trio. In 2025, two new albums featuring his works were released: the Miró Quartet’s Hearth (Pentatone) and Sun Hee You’s Circle (Piano Classics), featuring Joo’s piano compositions.
Joo’s love of chamber music has shaped his artistic life through collaborations with Martin Fröst, Janine Jansen, Mischa Maisky, Julian Rachlin, the Belcea Quartet, and Quatuor Ébène. In the vocal field, he has worked with Dame Felicity Lott, Sunhae Im, Valentina Nafornița, Julian Prégardien, Nadine Sierra, Pretty Yende, and upcoming projects with Andreas Schager.
Beyond the classical world, Joo arranged and recorded Billy Joel’s Fantasies and Delusions for Sony Classical, and appeared in films such as Pianomania, And So It Goes, Breaking Beethoven, and Breaking Rachmaninoff. His duo Igudesman & Joo, whose fusion of music, humour, and pop culture captivated audiences worldwide and took the internet by storm, has toured globally with guests including Joshua Bell, Emanuel Ax, Viktoria Mullova, Yuja Wang, John Malkovich, and Sir Roger Moore. Their book Rette die Welt was published by edition-a. At the end of 2025, after twenty-one years, the duo retired from the concert stage following a farewell tour.
Dedicated to education, Joo leads his Beyond the Practice Room workshops and works regularly with students and youth orchestras. He serves as Artistic Director of the Menuhin Competition, sits on international juries such as the Cleveland International Piano Competition, and mentors young musicians at the Yehudi Menuhin School. He also contributes fingerings for editions published by Henle Verlag, and has been awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the Manhattan School of Music.
Hyung-ki Joo’s multifaceted career continues to push artistic boundaries, blending virtuosity, creativity, and education to inspire musicians and audiences around the world.