Reynaldo Hahn: Le Rossignol Éperdu
Praised for her “flowing tones, poetic phrasing and heavenly singing melodies” (Cincinnati Inquirer), and “musical imagination and feel for complex textures drew vivid images” (Washington Post), South Korean pianist Yoonie Han has won top prizes in distinguished international competitions and the highest accolades for her poetic performances in major concert halls in the U.S. and around the world.
In 2009, Ms. 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, Music Teachers’ National Association Piano Competition, and has garnered major prizes at the Helsinki Maj Lind International Piano Competition, Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli Prize, Concor
so Pianistico Ettore Pozzoli Internaziole, Valencia-Paterna International Piano Competition, and Recontre 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 Berlin Symphoniker, Buffalo Philharmonic, Helsinki Philharmonic, Houston Symphony, Banff Festival Orchestra, Santa Cruz Symphony, Artosphere Festival Orchestra, I Pomeriggi Musicali di Milan, Gangnam Symphony Orchestra of Korea, Presidential Symphony Orchestra of Turkey, New Jersey Festival Orchestra, Boca Raton Symphonia, New Amsterdam Orchestra, Philharmonic of Southern New Jersey, Mississippi Symphony Orchestra, Arkansas Philharmonic, and Juilliard Pre-College Symphony Orchestra. She has played such celebrated venues as at Berlin Philharmonie, Concertgebouw, Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center, Cathedral of St. John the Divine, Frick Collections, Symphony Space, Boston University Tanglewood Festival, Embassy Series in Washington D.C., Rockefeller University’s Tri-Noon Series, Myra Hess Series, Phillips Collections, Bergamo Festival in Italy, Salle Cortot in France, Mozart Museum in Czech Republic, and SeJong Performing Arts Center in Korea. In 2012-13, with support from Fulbright Foundation, she has toured major Steinway Halls in U.S., and Europe. Her performances have also been broadcast on WQXR- New York, NPR’s “Artist Showcases”, Chicago’s WFMT, and many other radio stations. Her debut album was released by Concert Artists Guild. Her second album, ‘Love and Longing’ on Steinway Records was “Album of the week” on WQXR and made the Top 21 on the Billboard Classical Chart. Her most recent album, “Goyescas,” also on Steinway Records, was released in 2017 to mark the 150th anniversary of the birth of the composer, Enrique Granados.
Ms. Han received her Bachelor’s degree from the Curtis Institute of Music studying with Eleanor Sokoloff, her Master of Music degree from the Juilliard School as a pupil of Robert McDonald, and her Doctorate at SUNY Stony Brook, privately studied with Eduardus Halim. She has given masterclasses at Harvard University, New York University, Boston University, Berklee College of Music, Indiana University, San Francisco Conservatory, San Francisco State University, College of William & Mary, City University of New York, State University of New York, California State University, Longy School of Music, Amalfi Coast Music Festival and Amica Piano Festival in Italy.
As an avid Chamber Musician, Yoonie Han is the founder of the Gloriosa Piano Trio, with which it had a sold-out debut at the Flagler Museum in Palm Beach, Florida. The Trio has taught and performed at New Jersey City University, Georgia Southwestern State University, Emory University, Shorter University, and the University of North Florida. She has collaborated with Canadian Brass, Alexander String Quartet, Attach Quartet, Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artists Program, and Kronberg Academy in Germany.
Working with living composers, Ms. Han has premiered several pieces that were commissioned and composed for her or her piano trio. The composer Theodore Wiprud, who is Vice President for Education at the New York Philharmonic, composed a trilogy of works for Ms. Han based on a painting by John Singer Sargent, one of which, “El Jaleo,” is included on Ms. Han’s album titled “Love and Longing.”
Ms. Han has also enjoyed special sponsorships from Roche Bobois, the Paris- based international retailer of fine furniture; Brequet, Switzerland’s leading maker of luxury timepieces, and Dolce & Gabbana, the Italian fashion house, which has supplied gowns for her concerts.
She has performed benefit concerts for the American Cancer Society, Philippines Cancer Society, Legal Aid Society, American Friends of London Philharmonic, and New York Asian Week.
She is an Assistant Professor of Piano and Chamber Music, and Artistic Events Coordinator at Bilkent University, Turkey. She’s a founder and Artistic Director of the Bilkent Piano Festival, as well as the Young Artists Concert Series at the Korean Embassy in Turkey.
Yoonie Han is a Steinway Concert & Recording Artist.
