Critics have described him as “a true poet of the piano.”: Pianist William Youn has garnered an international reputation, particularly noted for his subtlety, clarity, emotional depth and sensitive interpretation. His extensive repertoire spans solo, chamber, and orchestral works, including compositions by Bach, Mozart, Schubert, Chopin, Rachmaninov, as well as contemporary pieces. He presents himself as a versatile artist who enjoys sharing his creative passion and spirit of exploration.
From Berlin to Seoul to New York, Youn has performed throughout the world with renowned orchestras such as the Cleveland Orchestra, the Munich Philharmonic, the Bamberg Symphony, the Deutsches Symphonie Orchester Berlin, the Belgian National Orchestra, the Mariinsky Orchestra, the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, the KBS Symphony Orchestra, the Amsterdam Sinfonietta the Munich Chamber Orchestra and the ensemble resonanz in many of the world’s finest concert halls, including Wigmore Hall in London, the Konzerthaus in Vienna, the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, the Pierre Boulez Saal and the Konzerthaus in Berlin, the Tokyo Opera City Concert Hall, the Alte Oper in Frankfurt, Bozar Brussels, Walt Disney Hall in Los Angeles, and the Seoul Arts Center. Among his distinguished musical collaborators are conductors Myung-Whun Chung, Thomas Hengelbrock, Hannu Lintu, Pietari Inkinen, Bernard Labadie, Riccardo Minasi, Kristiina Poska, Shiyeon Sung and Mario Venzago; composers Isabel Mundry, Konstantia Gourzi and Manfred Trojahn, as well as violist Nils Mönkemeyer and clarinetist Sabine Meyer.
William Youn is also a frequent guest at international festivals such as Menuhin Festival in Gstaad, Schubertiade in Hohenems/Schwarzenberg, MITO SettembreMusica, Grafenegg Festival, Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, Rheingau Musik Festival, Heidelberger Frühling, Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Mozartfest Würzburg, Montréal Bach Festival, Schwetzinger SWR Festspiele and Davos Festival.
Highlights of the season 2025/26 include international debuts with orchestras such as the Konzerthausorchester Berlin and the London Mozart Players. Youn makes his first appearances at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, the Gewandhaus Leipzig, as well as at the Ruhr Piano Festival and the Bachfest Leipzig.
William Youn has released numerous award-winning CDs. In November 2022, he completed his three-part complete recording of all Schubert piano sonatas for Sony Classical, which was highly praised by the international press, making it a "recording of the century" (Crescendo). He also recorded all Mozart sonatas on five albums for Oehms Classics. To mark the 150th birthday of Reynaldo Hahn, William Youn's first orchestral recording for Sony with piano concertos by Hahn and Nadia Boulanger as well as works by Gabriel Fauré was released by Sony in January 2024. It was honored with the Diapason d'Or.
Born in Seoul, William Youn discovered the piano in kindergarten and moved to Boston in the USA at the age of 13 to study at the New England Conservatory. Five years later, he transferred to the Hanover University of Music, Drama and Media and received further musical impetus as a scholarship holder at the Piano Academy Lake Como, where he was influenced by artistic personalities such as Dmitri Bashkirov, Andreas Staier, William Grant Naboré and Menahem Pressler. He currently serves on the board of trustees for the Wilhelm Kempff Cultural Foundation in Positano and holds a professorship at the Korean National University of Arts Seoul.
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