Praised for her “flowing tones, poetic phrasing and heavenly singing melodies” (Cincinnati
Inquirer), and “musical imagination and feel for complex textures that drew vivid images”
(Washington Post), South Korean pianist Yoonie Han has won top prizes in distinguished
international competitions and the highest accolades for her elegant performances in major
concert halls around the world.
In 2009, Yoonie Han was honored with the Gawon Music Award as the “most brilliant pianist
aged 17 to 31 of any nationality who possesses the most promising potential for global
prominence.” She is the first-prize winner of the Washington International Piano Competition,
Fulbright Concerto Competition, World Piano Competition, Kosciuszko Chopin Competition,
Juilliard’s Gina Bachauer Piano Competition, Juilliard’s Frederich Nordmann Piano
Competition, Juilliard’s Chopin Piano Competition, Music Teachers’ National Association Piano
Competition, Nena Wideman Piano Competition, and has garnered major prizes at the Helsinki
Maj Lind International Piano Competition, Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli Prize, Concorso
Pianistico Ettore Pozzoli Internaziole, Valencia-Paterna International Piano Competition, and
Rencontre International Piano Competitions. Following her 2001 grand-prize award in the Korea
National Music Competition, the Korean Ministry of Culture named her its “Most Promising
Young Artist.” She is the recipient of “Brava!” award given by the Italian Academy Foundation,
as well as an award from London Keyboard Trust.
Having made her solo debut with the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra at Seoul Arts Center at age
13, Ms. Han has since performed with the Berliner Symphoniker, Buffalo Philharmonic, Helsinki
Philharmonic, Houston Symphony, Banff Festival Orchestra, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra,
Santa Cruz Symphony, Artosphere Festival Orchestra, I Pomeriggi Musicali di Milan, Gangnam
Symphony Orchestra of Korea, Presidential Symphony Orchestra of Turkey, Eskisehir
Symphony Orchestra, New Jersey Festival Orchestra, New Amsterdam Orchestra, Philharmonic
of Southern New Jersey, and Juilliard Symphony Orchestra. A graceful, sensitive, and powerful
recitalist, Yoonie Han has played at such celebrated venues as at the Berlin Philharmonie,
Concertgebouw, Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center, Cathedral of St. John the
Divine, Frick Collection, Symphony Space, Tanglewood Festival, Bergamo Festival in Italy,
Salle Cortot in Paris, and Sejong Performing Arts Center in Korea. In 2012-13, with the supports
from Fulbright Foundation, she toured major Steinway Halls in the U.S. and Europe.
She has recorded three albums with the Steinway Records. The first album ‘Love and
Longing’ (2014) was “Album of the week” on WQXR and made the Top 21 on the Billboard
Classical Chart. The second album, ‘Goyescas’ (2017) was released to mark the 150th
anniversary of the birth of the composer, Enrique Granados. The third album presents the
complete ‘Le Rossignol Éperdu’ (2019) by Reynaldo Hahn. Her previous album ‘Romantic
Piano’ (2013) was released on Concert Artists Guild. A devoted chamber musician, she’s a
founder and pianist at Gloriosa Piano Trio. The trio’s debut album (2019) was released on the
Centaur Records label. Her most recent album ‘Hollywood Romance’ (2020) was released on the
Universal Music label.
Ms. Han received her Bachelor’s degree from the Curtis Institute of Music, her Master of Music
degree from the Juilliard School, and her Doctorate from Stony Brook University.
She was an Assistant Professor of Piano at Bilkent University in Turkey in 2015-18. She is the
founder and Artistic Director of the Istanbul International Piano Festival and Steinway Award in
Turkey. She is currently an Assistant Professor of Piano at Hong Kong Baptist University.
Yoonie Han is a Steinway Artist.
