MINJUNG BAEK

MINJUNG BAEK

“There is a complete absence of anything other than total commitment to the spirit of the music and her playing is imaginative, vital and commanding.” —John Lill, Concert pianist

“The pianist, MinJung… has infinite possibilities!” —Stephen Kovacevich, Concert artist

MinJungBaek started studying the piano at the age four, and her talent was immediately recognized when she entered her first competition at the age of five. She went on to win more than fifty prizes in Korean national competitions and later other awards also in international competitions include the 2012 Beethoven Piano Society of Europe Competition; Skokie Valley Symphony Orchestra Young Artist Competition in USA; the Giuliano Pecar, Lyon, Ernesto Falla, Antonio Napoletano, Nuovi Orizzonti, Liszt, Pietro Argento and Rachmaninoff piano competitions in Italy, which provided her with engagements to play Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concertos No.1 and No.2, and the Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini in one concert in Ukraine and Italy under the baton of Maestro Epifanio Comis. The concerts and related interviews were broadcast by Ukraine’s national television.
MinJung made her first public recital appearance at the age of eight at the Yurim Art Hall in Seoul, Korea and at age ten she made the orchestral debut with the Busan Philharmonic Orchestra, playing Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 1 at the Busan Arts Center. At thirteen, she had already given recitals and concerts in USA, Russia, and Switzerland. Since then, her sensitive touch, expressive playing, and strong charisma have led her to perform extensively throughout in USA (including Carnegie Weill Recital Hall, Steinway Hall in New York City, Mixon Hall in Cleveland), Italy, Ukraine, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Germany, Russia, Japan, Romania, Spain, Thailand, Korea, China and UK (including Barbican Hall, Wigmore Hall, Milton Court Hall, St.Martins in the Field, Purcell Room, St. James Piccadilly, Warwick Arts Centre, B. Britten Theatre, Royal Academy of Music, South Hill Park Arts Centre, King’s Place, and at the City of London Festival and the Brighton Festival).
MinJung has been invited to play as a soloist with the Czech Martinu Philharmonic Orchestra, the Zhengzhou Philharmonic Orchestra, the New York Arts Ensemble Orchestra, the Kiev Philharmonic Orchestra, the Poltava Symphony Orchestra, the Yalta Symphony Orchestra, the Bellini Symphony Orchestra, the Po Hang Philharmonic Orchestra, the Seong Nam Philharmonic Orchestra, the New World Symphony Orchestra and the Exeter Symphony Orchestra. Her performances and interviews have been broadcast on KBS, Rai, ITV, PBS, WQXR, and the Ukraine national radio.
MinJung is also a recipient of numerous awards, including the Gold Medal by the Worshipful Company of Musicians; an Artist Grant by the New York Foundation of Arts; an Artist Proclamation Award by Jeffrey Schonberg, Illinois Senator of USA; Earl Wild’s Teaching Fellowship by Ivory Classics, which led to the rare honor and privilege to play for the legendary Mr. Wild in Palm Spring, CA; and the Guildhall Trust since 2010.
MinJung studied at Mannes college of Music(BM) in NYC under Jerome Rose, and at the Accademia PianisticaInternazionale “Incontri col maestro” di Imola(Diploma) with Leonid Margarius and Epifanio Comis and obtained also the Master of Performance and the Artist Diploma, both with distinction, at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama in London on a full scholarship under the guidance of Ronan O’Hora and Stephen Kovacevich.
Recent highlights include her successful debut recital at Carnegie Weill Hall in July 2019, invitations as a faculty at the East/West International Piano Festival in Shenzhen, the Baby Mozart Piano Festival in Qingdao and Shanghai and at one of the most prestigious international piano festivals – the International Keyboard Institute&Festival in NYC and serving as a visiting professor at L.Canepa national music conservatory in Italy. Releasing her debut CD <Rachmaninoff: Piano Works> under the Onclassical, Italian label on Nov. 1, 2019 which has been immediately ranked as the popular release on both Spotify, AppleMusic and physical CD.
Since 2015, MinJung holds her teaching position at KyungHee University in Seoul as an adjunct professor alongside her busy concert career.