Hyung-ki Joo

The pianist and composer Hyung-ki Joo uses his creative energy to develop new concert formats and to bring classical music closer to a wide audience. He steps into the spotlight in various roles: as a pianist, orchestral director, communicator, arranger and composer.

In the 2024/25 season he appeared with the Trondheim Symphony Orchestra and the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen. With Asmik Grigorian he has performed the programme A Diva is Born – which caused a sensation at the Vienna State Opera in May 2024 – in Vilnius and Kaunas. They bring the programme in Salzburg this summer, and this autumn take it to La Scala, Milan.

Previous highlights have included performances with the Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia and conducting the project Haydn Seek! with the Hong Kong Sinfonietta. He also curated the opening of the 2023 Vienna Festival (Wiener Festwochen).

As a soloist he has performed with orchestras such as the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, the Sinfonia Varsovia and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

Chamber music is also an important part of his musical activity. He has performed with fellow musicians including Renaud Capuçon, Martin Fröst, Janine Jansen, Mischa Maisky, Julian Rachlin and the Belcea Quartet, and accompanied singers such as Felicity Lott, Julian Prégardien and Pretty Yende.

His compositions have been performed by well-known orchestras and soloists such as the New York Philharmonic, the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, Emanuel Ax, Tine Thing Helseth, Daniel Hope and Yuja Wang.

He also regularly works outside the world of classical music. He has arranged Billy Joel’s album Fantasies and Delusions and participated in numerous films such as Pianomania, Noseland and Breaking Beethoven. As one half of the duo Igudesman & Joo he has brought laughter to concert halls worldwide and conquered the internet. Illustrious guests such as Joshua Bell, Gidon Kremer and Yuja Wang, and also John Malkovich and Roger Moore, have joined the party. At the end of 2025 the duo bid farewell to fans worldwide in a tour.

As a passionate music educator, Hyung-ki Joo regularly works with students and youth orchestras. He holds an honorary doctorate from the Manhattan School of Music and is a mentor at the Yehudi Menuhin School. Since 2024 he has been artistic director of the Menuhin Competition in Geneva.