Sunwook Kim

Sunwook Kim came to international recognition when he won the prestigious Leeds International Piano Competition in 2006 at just 18, becoming the youngest winner in 40 years and the first Asian winner in the competition’s history. Since then, he has built a reputation as one of the finest pianists of his generation, appearing as a concerto soloist in the subscription series of many of the world’s leading orchestras, including the Berliner Philharmoniker, London Symphony Orchestra, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Staatskapelle Dresden, Chicago Symphony, and the NHK Symphony.

Kim enjoys close artistic partnerships with renowned conductors such as Daniel Harding, Paavo Järvi, Myung-whun Chung, Marek Janowski, Sir Mark Elder, and Jakub Hrůša. Recent highlights include an extensive tour across Europe and Korea play-directing Beethoven concerti with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, with performances at Lotte Concert Hall, the Berlin Philharmonie, Salle Philharmonique de Liège, Halle aux Grains in Toulouse, and the Barbican in London. Additional concerto engagements have included performances with the London Symphony Orchestra (with Michael Tilson Thomas), the Los Angeles Philharmonic (both with Nathalie Stutzmann and as part of the Seoul Festival curated by Unsuk Chin), and the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic under its Music Director Karina Canellakis. In November 2025, he will appear as soloist with the Berliner Philharmoniker and Kirill Petrenko for their Korean tour. In recital, Kim performs regularly at venues such as Wigmore Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall (London International Piano Series), the Philharmonie de Paris and Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in the “Piano 4 Étoiles” series, the Piano aux Jacobins Festival, Aix Festival, La Roque d’Anthéron International Piano Festival, as well as the Beethoven-Haus Bonn, Klavier-Festival Ruhr, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Festspiele, Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, Kioi Hall in Tokyo, Symphony Hall Osaka, and Seoul Arts Centre. He also collaborates frequently with Janine Jansen, including a recent tour of Italy with performances in Venice, Milan, Cremona, and Turin, as well as concerts in Düsseldorf and Lugano with an all-Brahms and Schumann programme.

Kim’s debut recital album was released on the Accentus label in October 2015, featuring Beethoven’s Waldstein and Hammerklavier Sonatas. This was followed by a recording of Franck’s Prelude, Chorale and Fugue paired with Brahms’s Sonata No. 3. He has since released further recordings of Beethoven’s Piano Sonatas (No. 8 “Pathétique,” No. 14 “Moonlight,” No. 23 “Appassionata,” and Nos. 30–32), and his most recent chamber music release features the complete Beethoven Violin Sonatas with Clara-Jumi Kang. His discography also includes several concerto recordings: with the Staatskapelle Dresden under Myung-whun Chung he recorded Brahms’s Piano Concerto No. 1 (2019) and Six Piano Pieces (2020). For Deutsche Grammophon, he has recorded with the Seoul Philharmonic under Myung-whun Chung, including Unsuk Chin’s Piano Concerto (2014)—a critically acclaimed release that received awards from BBC Music Magazine and the International Classical Music Awards—and Beethoven’s Concerto No. 5 (2013). In 2023, the Berliner Philharmoniker released a box set of Unsuk Chin’s works, featuring her Piano Concerto performed by Kim and conducted by Sakari Oramo.

Born in Seoul in 1988, Kim completed an MA in conducting at the Royal Academy of Music and was later named a Fellow (FRAM) of the institution in 2019. In addition to Leeds, he has won major international awards including First Prize at the 2004 Ettlingen Competition (Germany) and the 2005 Clara Haskil Competition (Switzerland). In 2013, Kim was selected by the Beethoven-Haus Bonn as the first beneficiary of its newly established mentoring programme.