Kun-Woo Paik

The seasoned pianist Kun-Woo Paik, born in Korea, ranked among the earliest musicians from his nation to forge a thriving professional path outside its borders. His activities have unfolded across multiple continents, incorporating studies and appearances in South Korea, the United States—site of a portion of his education—and Europe, where he has long maintained residence in France. He has regularly programmed lesser-known repertoire. His recorded output is considerable, dating back to the LP years and encompassing the two volumes Mozart: Piano Works 1 and Mozart: Piano Works 2 issued by Deutsche Grammophon in 2024.

Paik entered the world in Seoul on March 10, 1946; his name has likewise been rendered as Kun Woo Paik or Paik Kun Woo, with Paik as the family name. At the age of ten he made his debut onstage, performing Grieg’s Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 16 alongside the Korean National Orchestra. By his late teens he already enjoyed a solid concert schedule throughout South Korea, yet he pursued additional instruction, earning a diploma from New York’s High School of Performing Arts before entering the Juilliard School. He completed his studies there in 1971, captured first prize at that year’s Naumburg Piano Competition in New York, and continued training in Italy under Rosina Lhévinne, whose guidance proved especially formative, as well as Wilhelm Kempff. In 1974 he presented three recitals at London’s Wigmore Hall and took up residence in Paris. One of his earliest discs, featuring Ravel works recorded with the Stuttgart Radio Symphony, appeared on the Pro-Arte Sinfonia label in 1983; Warner Classics later assembled selections from this period under the title Kun Woo Paik: The Early Recordings.

Paik has collaborated with leading ensembles worldwide, among them the London Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestre National de France, Russia’s St. Petersburg Philharmonic, and the Warsaw Philharmonic, the last of which joined him for a 2003 traversal of Chopin’s complete works for piano and orchestra. He returns regularly to festivals such as the Berlin Festwochen, France’s Aix-en-Provence Festival, and the Mostly Mozart and Ravinia Festivals in the United States. His tours have extended to Australia and New Zealand; in 2000 he became the first Korean musician invited to perform in China. His programs embrace uncommon scores, including Ferruccio Busoni’s piano concerto, Fauré’s Fantasy for piano and orchestra, and a concerto he commissioned from the Korean composer Suk-Hi Kang. He has remained active well into later life, recording for Decca, Naïve, and Deutsche Grammophon, the last of which released the two Mozart albums in 2024. The French government named him Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters in 2000. Between 1993 and 2014 he served as artistic director of the Emerald Coast Music Festival in Dinard, France.