Yoahn Kwon

Pianist John Kwon, a native of South Korea, has won extraordinary critical acclaim for his deep musicianship, sensitivity, and rare insight. Renowned critic Harris Goldsmith called him a “versatile and interesting musician who keeps audiences’ attention from beginning to end.”

Mr. Kwon started piano studies at the age of nine. He attended at the Pre-College Division of The Juilliard School. After graduating from the LaGuardia High School of Music and Arts, Mr. Kwon received his Bachelor's and Master's degree from the Mannes College of Music.

At Mannes, he studied piano with Diane Walsh, theory and analysis with Carl Schachter with a generous scholarship award from the Jerry Seinfeld Family Foundation. Furthermore, Mr. Kwon completed the Stages du Perfectionenment at France's L'Ecole Normale de Musiques de Paris, studying with Anne Queffelec for 4 consecutive years. He studied and mentored by pianist Jacob Krichaf (who was a student of Claudio Arrau) in New York during his formative years. And later frequently taught by great pianists and Pedagogues such as Anton Kuerti, Jacques Rouvier, and John O’Conor at the Wilhelm Kempff’s Positano Beethoven Master Kurs in Italy, Banff Centre and Orford Academy in Canada.

With the essential interpretation based on his unique touch and painstaking musical analysis, he is warmly welcomed by audiences and critics on important concert venues in the world. Recitals, concerto appearances and his chamber music performances with members of the New York Philharmonic, Metropolitan Opera, Chicago Symphony, and

London Philharmonic Orchestra won critical acclaim. He has given complete performances of sonatas for piano and violin by Grieg, Faure, Brahms and Beethoven with violinist Jiyoung Park and has recorded several CDs for Audioguy, WFMT Chicago, and SONY Classical label.

Alongside his ongoing critically acclaimed concerts, Mr. Kwon's teaching is highly in demand by prospective students from East Asia. His recent private students successfully got accepted to many great conservatories and universities around the world such as Manhattan School of Music, Peabody Institute at John’s Hopkins University, University of Southern California’s Thornton School of Music, Ecole Normale de Music de Paris, HMDK Stuttgart, Hochschule fu?r Musik Hanns Eisler Berlin.

photo: from booklet AGCD0137