Steinway Artist & Steinway Honorary Teacher
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, 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 the 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, Miami 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, New Jersey Festival Orchestra, City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong, 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 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, Hong Kong City Hall, and Sejong Performing Arts Center in Korea. In 2012-13, with the support of the Fulbright Foundation, she toured major Steinway Halls in the U.S. and Europe.
She has recorded three albums with 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 most recent album 'Hollywood Romance' was released on the Universal Music label (2020). Her previous album 'Romantic Piano' (2013), was released by 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.
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 from 2015-18. She is the founder and Artistic Director of the Istanbul International Piano Festival and Steinway Awards. She is currently an Assistant Professor of Piano at Hong Kong Baptist University.
Yoonie Han is a Steinway Artist and Steinway Honorary Teacher.