Richard Hyung-ki Joo

Hailed by Yehudi Menuhin as “A most engaging human being of great talent,” the British-Korean pianist and composer Richard Hyung-ki Joo has captivated audiences throughout the world with his multi-dimensional artistry and irresistible charisma. Grand Prize Winner of the Stravinsky International Piano Competition, he has performed all around the world including venues such as Carnegie Hall, Musikverein, Barbican Hall, and a command performance for the US President, at the White House. The legendary songwriter, Billy Joel, chose Joo to arrange and record Joel’s classical piano pieces for the album “Fantasies and Delusions” which was released on the Sony Classical label. It was recorded at the Mozart-Hall, Vienna Konzerthaus, and reached the no.1 spot on the Billboard charts for eighteen weeks.
Born in England, of South Korean parents, Richard Hyung-ki Joo began his formal training in the UK at the Menuhin School with Peter Norris and Seta Tanyel and later earned his Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from Manhattan School of Music, where he studied with Nina Svetlanova. Other teachers include Richard Goode and Oleg Maisenberg.
As soloist, he has performed with conductors such as Sergiu Commissiona, Andrey Andreev, Rumon Gamba, Daniel Raiskin, and Yehudi Menuhin and orchestras such as the London Philharmonic, Royal Philharmonic, Seoul Philharmonic, KBS, and Warsaw Sinfonia. In 2001, he founded his piano trio, “DIMENSION”, with Rafal Payne and Thomas Carroll. They are winners of the 2004 South East Music Scheme Award, and the 2005 International Parkhouse Chamber Music Competition. To date, they have appeared at festivals such as Brighton, Canterbury, Chichester, and Lancut (Poland) and the South Bank and Wigmore Hall. Last season, DIMENSION performed the Beethoven Triple Concerto with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and also on Spanish National TV. Mr. Joo’s other chamber music partners have included Lidia Baich, Michael Collins, Gervase de Peyer, Martin Fröst, Nobuko Imai, Janine Jansen, Monika Leskovar, Mischa Maisky, Julian Rachlin, Lara St. John, Torleif Thedeen, Radovan Vlatkovich and also members of the Alban Berg, Artis, Belcea, and Hugo Wolf quartets.
He has also created and performed several shows which integrate comedy with classical music. His most recent show, "A Little Nightmare Music", co-written with Aleksey Igudesman (Triology), was premiered at the Vienna Musikverein and, since then, has been performed at festivals around the world including Verbier, Gidon Kremer's Lockenhaus, Bergen Festspillene, Rachlin and Friends in Dubrovnik, Oleg Kagan Festival in Germany, and Janine Jansen's Festival in Utrecht.
Next year, Igudesman & Joo will collaborate on a music and comedy project with Gidon Kremer and his Kremerata Baltica.