Benjamin Kim

Last updated
Benjamin Kim
Also known asBen Kim
Born Portland, Oregon, United States
Occupation Pianist
Instrument Piano
Labels Sony Music Entertainment, Decca Classics, Challenge Classics
Website benkimonline.com

Benjamin "Ben" Kim is an American pianist, who won the 55th ARD International Music Competition in Munich, September 2006 (First prize). [1]

Contents

Biography

Born and raised in Portland, Oregon, Kim started studying the piano at age five with Dorothy Fahlman. [2] At the age of eight, he performed his first public solo recital and his orchestral debut at twelve. At age 20, he finished an accelerated Bachelor of Music degree program at the Peabody Conservatory as a student of Leon Fleisher. He continued his studies at Peabody with Leon Fleisher together with Yong Hi Moon as a candidate for the Artist Diploma program. In addition, Ben was selected to attend the International Piano Academy Lake Como in Italy, a program for seven pianists, headed by Martha Argerich and William Grant Naboré. [2] He finished his studies at the Universität der Künste Berlin (UDK Berlin) with Klaus Hellwig

He made his debut at Carnegie Hall's Zankel Hall with the Olympus Chamber Players in 2009 and at Suntory Hall in Tokyo in 2010. Kim has been presented in major halls throughout the world, including the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Musikverein in Vienna, Gewandhaus in Leipzig, Suntory Hall in Tokyo, and the Kennedy Center in Washington DC with orchestras such as the Bavarian Radio, German Radio, Baltimore, Seoul Philharmonic, and St Petersburg Hermitage State Symphonies. His performances have been broadcast on radio and television on all continents, including National Public Radio's classical music show From the Top and NPO4 [3] in Holland.

Awards

In September 2006, Kim won First Prize in the 55th ARD International Music Competition in Munich. [1]

In 2012, Kim was one of six recipients selected among a pool of more than 13,000 graduates at the Johns Hopkins University to be awarded an Outstanding Recent Graduate Award for outstanding achievement or service in any professional field. [4]

Kim was the recipient of the Rheingau Music Festival's 2017 LOTTO Career Development Prize. [5] The international jury panel made its decision upon the following stated reasons: "His brilliant technique and his incredible flair for interpretive refinement are self-evident....an exceptional phenomenon among pianists his generation - such a natural, sympathetic charisma and pleasant modesty, coupled with great virtuosity, are rarely experienced with a leading musician.” [6]

Comments on Kim

Recordings

Works for solo piano by Chopin, Mozart and Debussy [9]

Sony USA, Sony BMG Korea, Sony Music Japan International Inc.(Sony CLASSICAL)

Chopin Préludes and Impromptus [10]

Decca, Universal Music Group

Kim's recording was given an Editor's recommendation in November 2012 from the Japanese Record Geijutsu Magazine, stating, "without nervousness or over-excitement, without boasting technique or exaggeration, Kim plays Chopin's music as if he were breathing it." [11]

Mozart Piano Concertos Nos. 17 and 23 [12]

Recorded with Concertgebouw Chamber Orchestra

Challenge Records

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leif Ove Andsnes</span> Norwegian pianist and chamber musician

Leif Ove Andsnes is a Norwegian pianist and chamber musician. Andsnes has made several recordings for Virgin and EMI. In 2012, Andsnes signed with Sony Classical, and recorded for the label the "Beethoven Journey" project, which included the five piano concertos with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra. The works were recorded over three years, beginning with Nos. 1 and 3 in 2012, followed by Nos. 2 and 4 in 2013 and the Fifth Piano Concerto and Choral Fantasy in 2014. He is represented by IMG.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Murray Perahia</span> American pianist and conductor

Murray David Perahia is an American pianist and conductor. He has been considered one of the greatest living pianists. He was the first North American pianist to win the Leeds International Piano Competition, in 1972. Known as a leading interpreter of Bach, Handel, Scarlatti, Mozart, Beethoven, and Schumann, among other composers, Perahia has won numerous awards, including three Grammy Awards from a total of 18 nominations, and 9 Gramophone Awards in addition to its first and only "Piano Award".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leon Fleisher</span> American pianist and conductor (1928–2020)

Leon Fleisher was an American classical pianist, conductor and pedagogue. He was one of the most renowned pianists and pedagogues in the world. Music correspondent Elijah Ho called him "one of the most refined and transcendent musicians the United States has ever produced".

Yeol Eum Son is a world renowned South Korean classical pianist. She is particularly esteemed as an interpreter of the Classical era of composers, especially Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, as well as such later composers as Mendelssohn, Schumann, Liszt, Rachmaninoff and Ravel. Son regularly performs as soloist with prominent orchestras and eminent conductors.

Tibor Szász is a Hungarian pianist and author of essays on musicological questions and performance practice related to Liszt, Mozart and Beethoven. Since 1993, Szász is Professor of Piano at the University of Music in Freiburg, Germany.

Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi is a world renowned Japanese cellist. In an international career which began in 1954, Tsutsumi has performed and recorded all of the principal standard works in the cello repertoire, both solo and concerto. He has appeared as soloist with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam, the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, the London Symphony Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and the National Symphony Orchestra of Washington D.C..

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Piotr Anderszewski</span> Polish pianist and composer (born 1969)

Piotr Anderszewski is a Polish pianist and composer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daniel Vnukowski</span> Polish Canadian pianist (born 1981)

Daniel Vnukowski is a Polish Canadian pianist and classical music broadcaster.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Genova & Dimitrov</span> Bulgarian piano duo

Genova & Dimitrov is a Bulgarian piano duo. The duo consists of Aglika Genova and Liuben Dimitrov. They appear at two pianos and at one piano four-handed with recital programmes, as well as with orchestras.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sebastian Manz</span> German clarinetist (born 1986)

Sebastian Manz is a German clarinetist. He is solo clarinetist in the SWR Symphonieorchester, international soloist and chamber musician. He is also active as an arranger and composer.

Marina Piccinini is an Italian American virtuoso flautist. She is noted for her performances of compositions by Mozart and Bach, and has performed with many of the world's top orchestras and conductors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul McNulty (piano maker)</span>

Paul McNulty is a builder of historical pianos, described by the New Grove as "famous for the high standard of [his] instruments." Within the community of builders, McNulty is noted for his efforts to extend the production of historically informed instruments later into history: while he has built many fortepianos in 18th-century style, he has also progressively sought to span the gap between the fortepiano and the fully modern piano that emerged around the last third of the 19th century. The expanding diversity of McNulty's productions has thus helped "provide an opportunity to extend keyboard performing practice to include the piano repertory of the 19th century".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anna Fedorova</span> Ukrainian musician (born 1990)

Anna Borysivna Fedorova is a Ukrainian concert pianist. Fedorova performs as soloist, chamber musician and with symphony orchestras in the major concert halls of the Netherlands, Germany, France, Italy, UK, Ukraine, Poland, the US, Mexico, Argentina, and parts of Asia. Fedorova is a David Young Piano Prize Holder supported by a Soiree d'Or Award and Keyboard Trust.

The Signum Quartet is a string quartet based in Bremen, Germany. Founded in 1994, it has been playing in the current formation since 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sophie Pacini</span> German-Italian pianist

Sophie Pacini is a German-Italian pianist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jane Coop</span> Canadian pianist and music pedagogue (born 1950)

Jane Austin Coop is a Canadian pianist and music pedagogue. An internationally recognized concert pianist, she has appeared as a recitalist and as a soloist with major symphony orchestras throughout the world. She has performed at such venues as the Bolshoi Hall in Saint Petersburg, the Kennedy Center, Alice Tully Hall, Roy Thomson Hall, the Hong Kong Cultural Centre, the Beijing Concert Hall, and the Salle Gaveau in Paris. From 1980 to 2012 she taught on the faculty of the University of British Columbia’s School of Music in Vancouver. In December 2012, she was appointed a member of the Order of Canada. In May, 2019 she was appointed to the Order of British Columbia (O.B.C.)

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seong-Jin Cho</span> South Korean pianist (born 1994)

Seong-Jin Cho is a South Korean pianist. He rose to fame within South Korea and the international classical music world in 2015 after winning the XVII International Chopin Piano Competition, becoming the first pianist from his country to do so.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eric Lu</span> American pianist (Born 1997)

Eric Lu is an American classical pianist. The recipient of the gold medal at the Leeds International Piano Competition in 2018, he has performed with many of the world's major orchestras including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Seattle Symphony, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, Oslo Philharmonic, and on tour with the Orchestre national de Lille. He records for Warner Classics under an exclusive contract, and has released critically acclaimed recordings of Beethoven, Brahms, Chopin, Schubert, and Schumann on the label.

Hai-Kyung Suh is a South Korean classical pianist living in New York. She is known for her rich, round tone, and singing voice-like phrasing, characteristics of the Romantic style of piano playing that was predominant in the Golden Age of pianism.

Margarita Höhenrieder is a German classical pianist and a professor at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater München. She has performed internationally and recorded, with a focus on chamber music. She premiered compositions which Harald Genzmer dedicated to her.

References

  1. 1 2 "Preisträger Klavier des Internationalen Musikwettbewerbs der ARD" (PDF). BR-online. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 22, 2010. Retrieved July 25, 2009.
  2. 1 2 "What's New at Peabody". Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins. Archived from the original on May 10, 2007. Retrieved July 25, 2009.
  3. ↑ "BEKIJK: MOZARTWEEK - BEN KIM". NPO Radio 4. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
  4. ↑ "The Outstanding Recent Graduate Award | Johns Hopkins Alumni". alumni.jhu.edu. Retrieved December 19, 2019.
  5. ↑ "LOTTO-Förderpreis | Rheingau Musik Festival 20.6. - September 5, 2020". www.rheingau-musik-festival.de. Retrieved December 19, 2019.
  6. ↑ "Rheingau Musik Festival: Förderpreis an Pianist Ben Kim". Musik Heute. 30 March 2017. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
  7. ↑ Vogt, Mario Felix (July 10, 2018). "Ben Kim bietet ein sinnliches Klangerlebnis". www.morgenpost.de (in German). Retrieved December 19, 2019.
  8. 1 2 Catala, Paul (October 25, 2006). "Ben Kim". Miami News Times. p. 1. Retrieved July 26, 2009.
  9. ↑ "ベン・キム | ソニーミュージックオフィシャルサイト".
  10. ↑ "ショパン:前奏曲集&即興曲集 [SHM-CD][CD] - ベン・キム - UNIVERSAL MUSIC JAPAN". ベン・キム (in Japanese). Retrieved December 19, 2019.
  11. ↑ "NEWS - ニュース｜concert imagine". www.concert.co.jp. Retrieved December 19, 2019.
  12. ↑ International, Challenge Records. "Piano Concertos Nos. 17 & 23 - Ben Kim". Challenge Records International. Retrieved December 19, 2019.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.