Young Hyun Cho

ABOUT

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 Solti Hall of the Liszt Academy in Budapest, and at the Seoul Arts Center in her native Korea. Young Hyun 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 Martinů Philharmonic, Korean Broadcasting System Symphony Orchestra, Korean Symphony Orchestra, Seoul National Symphony Orchestra, and the Eastman 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.

A concert review in the Aachen newspaper in Germany called her a “blessed interpreter of Beethoven.” She is currently working on a project to record all 32 Beethoven piano sonatas. Her concerts and recordings, including “Beethoven’s Last Three Piano Sonatas” on the Sony release and “Beethoven’s Piano Sonatas Nos. 12-15” on the Blue Griffin release, have received critical acclaim. The music publication Textura noted “impeccable technique and clarity of expression and articulation…Cho’s complete set of Beethoven’s Sonatas would be well worth acquiring.” Composer and critic Steven Kennedy lauded the “great command of dynamic shading” and “precision of the performances.”  Fanfare music magazine praised “each note articulated with absolute clarity” and “beautifully limned with phrasing.”

A new album featuring Sonatas Nos. 1-4, 19, and 20 will be released on Blue Griffin next month, in late October 2025.

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.

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 went on to pursue further studies in the United States. 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.

Cho is married to distinguished nuclear physicist Dean Lee, head of theoretical nuclear science at Michigan State University and the founder of the Advanced Studies Gateway program at the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB). Together, they organize the FRIB Concert Series as part of the Advanced Studies Gateway. Deeply compassionate animal advocates, they share their home with three rescue dogs and a cat. Cho speaks English and Korean and enjoys swimming and exploring new languages in her spare time.