About Yoonie

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 poetic performances in major concert halls in the U.S. and 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, Wideman International Piano Competition, and has garnered major prizes at the Helsinki Maj Lind International Piano Competition, Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli Prize, Concorso Pianistico Ettore Pozzoli Internaziole, and Valencia International Piano Competitions. Following her grand-prize award in the Korea National Music Competition in 2001, the Korean Ministry of Culture named her its “Most Promising Young Artist.” She is the recipient of the “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, Cincinnati Symphony, Miami Symphony, Hong Kong’s SAR Philharmonic, City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong, Santa Cruz Symphony, Juilliard Symphony, New Jersey Festival, New Amsterdam, Presidential Symphony of Turkey, Gangnam Symphony of Korea, and Banff Festival Orchestras. She 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, The Morgan Library and Museum, 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 from Fulbright Foundation, she toured major Steinway Halls in the U.S. and Europe. Her debut album was released on the Concert Artists label (2013), and she has released three albums with Steinway Records. Her ‘Love and Longing’ (2014) on Steinway Records made the Top 21 on the Billboard Classical Chart. Her second album, ‘Goyescas’ (2017), was released to mark the 150th anniversary of the birth of the composer, Enrique Granados. Her third album presents the complete ‘Le Rossignol Éperdu’ (2019) by Reynaldo Hahn. In 2020, she released ‘Hollywood Romance’ on the Universal Records label. Her Piano Trio, Gloriosa, has released an album (2019) on the Centaur Records label. Her transcription of Rachmaninoff’s ‘Andante Cantabile’ was published on MusePress in 2021. Her next albums will be released on Warner Music Group featuring Khachaturian Piano Concerto with the London Symphony Orchestra.

Among her philanthropic activities, she has performed for the American, Korean and Philippine Cancer Societies.  She has also enjoyed relationships with such luxury brands as Dolce & Gabbana, Roche Bobois, and Bregruet.

Ms. Han received her Bachelor’s degree from the Curtis Institute of Music, her Master of Music degree from the Juilliard School, her Artistic Diploma from the University of Montreal, and her Doctorate from Stony Brook University. She was an Assistant Professor of Piano and Artistic Events Coordinator at Bilkent University in Turkey in 2015-18. She is the founder and Artistic Director of the Istanbul International Piano Festival and Steinway Prize in Turkey (formerly Bilkent Piano Festival). She worked as an Assistant Professor of Piano at Hong Kong Baptist University in 2018-23. Currently, she is an Associate Professor of Art at New York University Shanghai.

Yoonie Han is a Steinway Artist and Steinway Honorary Teacher.