Biography

Pianist, composer, and creative force Hyung-ki Joo is redefining the concert experience, blending storytelling with musical innovation to engage audiences beyond traditional classical formats. Renowned for his jovial, contagious stage presence and brilliantly virtuosic performances, he crafts projects that showcase his versatility as pianist, conductor, communicator, composer, and artistic director.

As a soloist, he appears regularly with leading orchestras worldwide, with recent engagements including the Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Romanian Radio Orchestra, Trondheim Symphony, and Zagreb Philharmonic. Highlights include serving as curator and director for the opening of the 2023 Wiener Festwochen, play-conducting the Hong Kong Sinfonietta in Haydn Seek, and collaborating with Tarmo Peltokoski, the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, and the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra.

In 2025, he performed in the opening concerts of the Busan Concert Hall and appeared at the Salzburg Festival alongside soprano Asmik Grigorian in A Diva Is Born, first premiered at the Vienna State Opera. The collaboration continued with a Lied recital at La Scala in Milan and further performances across Europe. Later this year sees the premiere of his new program, Piano vs. Orchestra, with the Beethoven Orchestra Bonn under Dirk Kaftan.

A devoted collaborator, Joo has worked with singers including Dame Felicity Lott and Pretty Yende, and instrumentalists such as Gidon Kremer, Janine Jansen, Joshua Bell, and the Belcea Quartet. Beyond the classical mainstream, he has collaborated with jazz pianist Stefano Bollani, actor John Malkovich, and Billy Joel, arranging and recording Joel’s last album, Fantasies and Delusions, for Sony Classical.

Committed to education, he mentors young musicians internationally and leads his Beyond the Practice Room workshops, focusing on creativity and communication beyond conventional performance. He is the recipient of an honorary doctorate from the Manhattan School of Music.

As a composer, Joo has written works that are performed worldwide and published by Universal Edition and Modern Works. The Miró Quartet commissioned him for a work that was featured on their recent album Hearth. He is currently working on a film score with award-winning visual artist and filmmaker Elly Cho.