Young Hyun Cho

ABOUT

Pianist Young Hyun Cho has performed throughout the world, from the Vienna Musikverein to the Berlin Philharmonic Concert Hall, from the Smetana Hall in Prague to the Soli Hall of the Liszt Academy in Budapest, and at the Seoul Arts Center in her native Korea. A critic from the Aachen newspaper in Germany referred to her as a “blessed interpreter of Beethoven” and continued the comment of Young Hyun’s solo piano concert with “the strength and fulness of her touch, the sensitively rendered legati of the cantilena were alive with expressiveness, passion, and temperament.”

Born in Korea to a non-musical family, Young Hyun Cho was introduced to Western classical music at an early age. Young Hyun soon enjoyed spending hours practicing the piano, thanks to her father’s influence, an anesthesiologist who loves to listen to the radio on the classical music channel. After attending Yewon Middle School, Seoul Arts High School, and Seoul National University in Seoul, she left for the United States to pursue further studies. Young Hyun Cho obtained her Master of Music and Graduate Performance Diploma from the Peabody Conservatory and her Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the Eastman School of Music. Her principal professors were Nelita True, Boris Slutsky, and Mikyung Kim.

Young Hyun Cho has appeared as a soloist with the Berlin Symphony Orchestra, Euro Sinfonietta Wien, Filarmonica della Calabria of Italy, North Czech Philharmonic Teplice, Budapest Symphony Chamber Orchestra M.A.V., Bohuslav Martinu Philharmonic, Korean Broadcasting System Symphony Orchestra, Seoul National Symphony Orchestra, and the Eastman School Symphony Orchestra. She is an associate professor of piano at Michigan State University College of Music, following her tenure as an associate professor at the University of Texas at Arlington.

Young Hyun Cho has embarked on a project to record all 32 Beethoven piano sonatas. Her current album, featuring Beethoven’s Piano Sonatas Nos. 12-15, will be released on Friday, June 27, 2025. It follows the Sony release of her last recording, “Beethoven’s Last Three Piano Sonatas,” which has received universal praise internationally.

Young Hyun Cho has shared her expertise as a guest faculty artist at various institutes and universities, from the International Piano Festival in Poland to the International Music Festival Armonie della sera in Italy, and from Piano Texas International Academy to Southern Methodist U., Baylor U., Texas Christian U., Henderson State U., West Texas A&M U., Levine School of Music, Virginia Commonwealth U., California State U. at Long Beach and C.S.U. at North Ridge, Humboldt State U., Louisiana State U. at Baton Rouge, Missouri State U., Bowling Green State U., Auburn U., North Carolina State U., South Carolina State U., U. of Central Oklahoma, Oklahoma City University, Northwestern College, Morning College, and Briar Cliff U; Seoul National U., Yonsei U., Busan U., Sookmyung Womens U., Kookmin U., Chonnam U., Mokwon U., Chosun U., Sunchon U., Honam Theological Seminary, Seoul Arts High School and Daejeon Arts High School in Korea; University-College Sedaya International in Malaysia; Goethe Institute in Thailand; China Conservatory of Beijing, Xinghai Conservatory of Guangzou, Hanshan Normal U., Jiaying U., Guangzhou Open U., and Shantou U. in China.

Since 2013, Cho has been married to distinguished nuclear physicist Dean Lee. Dr. Dean Lee also works at Michigan State University and is the departmental head of theoretical nuclear science. He is the founder of the Advanced Studies Gateway program at the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB) at MSU. Together, they run the FRIB concert series at the university as part of the Advanced Studies Gateway. Dean and Young Hyun, who both feel strong compassion for animals and are devoted animal advocates, live with four rescue dogs. Young Hyun Cho is fluent in English and Korean and enjoys learning languages, including Italian and German.