Hyung-ki Joo

Steinway Artist Hyung-Ki Joo is a pianist, composer, comedian and one half of the comedy-musical duo Igudesman & Joo. Following in the footsteps of luminaries such as Victor Borge and Dudley Moore Aleksey Igudesman and Hyung-ki Joo have taken the world by storm with their unique and hilarious theatrical shows. Combining comedy with music – their clips on YouTube have gathered over 45 million hits – their infectious zaniness and virtuosity has made millions of college and high school students among their biggest fans, building a younger and wider audience for classical music at a critical time for the industry. They have been commissioned by orchestras such as the New York Philharmonic, Pittsburgh Symphony, Dusseldorf Symphony, Vienna Symphony, and Zürich Tonhalle. Many of the world’s most respected musicians have asked the duo to include them in their skits of musical mayhem, such as Emanuel Ax, Joshua Bell, Janine Jansen, Gidon Kremer, Mischa Maisky, Viktoria Mullova, Julian Rachlin, and Yuja Wang. They have collectively released over 50 publications on Universal Edition, and their film and concert music is performed by musicians and children all over the world.

Born in England of South Korean parents, Hyung-ki Joo began his formal training in the UK at the Yehudi 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.

Joo’s works have been performed by orchestras such as the New York Philharmonic and London Philharmonic, Komische Oper Berlin, recorded by artists such as Shani Diluka and the Ahn Piano Trio. His music is published by Universal Edition and Modern Works. Some of his frequent chamber music partners have included Renaud Capuçon, Martin Fröst, Janine Jansen, Dame Felicity Lott, Mischa Maisky, Julian Rachlin, Radovan Vlatkovic, the Belcea Quartet and members of the Alban Berg, Meta4, and Ebène String Quartets.

In 2001 he was invited by Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Billy Joel to arrange and record Joel’s solo piano compositions on a CD which reached #1 on the Billboard Charts, where it remained for 18 weeks.

Hyung-ki Joo has been a Steinway Artist since 2012.