Yu Jung Yoon

Already at the age of 3, Yu Jung Yoon began to play by ear the pieces that her older siblings practiced on the piano. After two years, she began to study formally.

She was admitted to St.Petersburg State Conservatory at 15, as one of the youngest students in its history. She was allowed to enter directly into the third year in piano, but she chose to delay her entry by one year in order to complete her schooling in Seoul, enlarging her repertoire and winning a few competitions in the process. She then returned to Russia, where she spent seven years working with Vasilly Alexievich Kalmikov. Besides learning Russian fluently, she graduated with the highest distinction.

Subsequent studies lead to Germany, where she worked with Vladimir Krainev and Roland Pröll. In Paris, she studied for a further four years with Henri Barda and developed maturity in her expressive style.

Consummate technical mastery and freedom to express emotion intuitively characterize her approach, which is not oriented by current orthodoxies or cultural norms. Instead, Yoon deploys a radically personal style of communication, where her interpretation emerges organically from her worldview.

In her aesthetic, a rich palate of personal emotions finds colour and subtle expression. Yoon is constantly
bringing a fresh outlook to her readings of the composers she interprets, ranging from deepest intimacy in Scriabin and vehement expansiveness in Ravel.