BIOGRAPHY
Born in Seoul in 2000, Jeonghwan Kim first began playing the piano at the age of six. In the following years, his numerous first prizes in national competitions led to his admittance to the “Seoul Arts Center Academy for Young Talented Musicians” at just nine years old. Since moving to Berlin in 2011, he has continued to earn extensive recognition in prestigious national and international piano competitions. At the 2017 International Liszt Competition for Young Pianists in Weimar, he received the third prize along with two special prizes.
In 2019, he was awarded the 1st prize at the Aarhus International Piano Competition in Denmark, prompting immediate Invitations to perform with the Aarhus and Odense Symphony Orchestras. He has since given concerts in major halls in Berlin, Weimar, Hamburg, and Aarhus, among others.
In 2022, he was awarded three prizes: in January, he won the 1st prize at the Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy competition in Berlin. Five months later, in June, he won the fourth
prize and the audience prize at the Sendai International Piano Competition.
In July 2023 he won the 1st prize along with two special prizes for his performance for the Bartok’s second piano concerto and the Best Overall Concerto Prize at the renowned Sydney International Piano Competition.
Since 2017, Jeonghwan has been studying at the University of Music Hanns Eisler in the class of Prof. Konrad Maria Engel. His former professors include So Yong Choi, Leda Kim, and Thomas Just He has also participated in masterclasses with Jakob Leuschner, Bob Versteegh, and Robert Levin. Other crucial influences on his artistic development include Stephan Imorde, Konstantin Heidrich, Antje Weithaas and Jonathan Aner.
"A very complete pianist and artist
His virtuosity is astounding, his accuracy in the most complex passages breathtaking...
[...] brought tears to my eyes"
-Piers Lane