Yekwon Sunwoo

## Yekwon Sunwoo has been hailed for his “unfailingly consistent excellence” (International Piano) and celebrated as "a pianist who commands a comprehensive technical arsenal that allows him to thunder without breaking a sweat" (Chicago Tribune). A powerful and virtuosic performer, he also, in his own words, "strives to reach for the truth and pure beauty in music.” The first Korean Gold medallist of the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, Yekwon's 25/26 season includes appearances with the Baltimore Symphony, the NSO of Uzbekistan, and the Korean American Music Supporters' Association, as well as recitals at Le French May Festival and at Seoul Arts Centre, amongst others. Recent highlights include concertos with the New York Philharmonic, Ann Arbor Symphony, Colorado Springs Philharmonic, Armenian Symphony, Kalamazoo Symphony, Macao Symphony, Victoria Symphony, Slovak Philharmonic, Orchestre de Chambre de Paris, as well as recitals at the University of Michigan, Bechstein Hall and Carnegie Hall. In previous seasons, he has performed as a soloist with the Munich Philharmonic and Valery Gergiev, Royal Danish Orchestra with Thomas Søndergard, Fort Worth and Tucson Symphonies, Washington Chamber Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Houston Symphony, National Orchestra of Belgium, Sendai Philharmonic and Royal Scottish National Orchestra amongst others. Recital appearances include Carnegie Hall, Wigmore Hall, Elbphilharmonie, Salle Cortot, Hong Kong Arts Festival, and a tour of Japan. An avid chamber musician, Yekwon's collaborators include Clara Jumi Kang, Sebastian Bohren, Benjamin Beilman, Linus Roth, Andrei lonita, Sebastian Bohren, lsang Enders, Tobias Feldmann, Gary Hoffman, Anne-Marie McDermott and the Jerusalem and Brentano Quartets. He has also toured Costa Rica, Guatemala and Panama with the Kumho Asiana Cultural Foundation and performed at Chamber Music of Lincoln Center's Inside Chamber Music Lectures. In addition to the Cliburn Gold Medal, Yekwon won first prizes at the 2015 International German Piano Award, the 2014 Vendome Prize held at the Verbier Festival, and the 2013 Sendai International Music Competition and the 2012 William Kapell International Piano Competition. Born in Anyang, South Korea, Yekwon began learning the piano at the age of 8 and made his recital and orchestral debuts in Seoul at 15. His teachers include Seymour Lipkin, Robert McDonald, Richard Goode and Bernd Goetzke. In September 2023, Yekwon released his second album for Decca Universal Music Korea, featuring works by Rachmaninov, following his first album in 2020 of works by Mozart. In 2017, Decca Gold released Cliburn Gold 2017 two weeks after Yekwon was awarded the Gold Medal, and it includes his award-winning performances of Ravel's La Valse and Rachmaninov's Second Piano Sonata.