Join the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music as we welcome pianist HieYon Choi for the Spring installment of our 2023/24 David L. Abell Piano Master Series, a concert series which features renowned artists visiting UCLA to perform and work with our piano students.
About HieYon Choi:
HieYon Choi, a distinguished South Korean pianist, has garnered international acclaim by winning top prizes at prestigious competitions such as Kapell, Epinal, Busoni, and Viotti. She has since performed with eminent orchestras like das Rundfunkorchester Berlin, the National Symphony (Washington DC), the Northern Sinfonia, the Seoul Philharmonic, and the KBS Symphony. She performed across Europe, the US, and Korea.
One of the highlights of Choi's career is her monumental four-year cycle of all 32 Beethoven piano sonatas at the Kumho Art Hall in Seoul, followed by another comprehensive Beethoven cycle that included piano trios, violin sonatas, cello sonatas, and variations. She has collaborated with renowned musicians such as Truls Mørk and Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi.
Since joining the piano faculty at Seoul National University in 1999, Choi has inspired students, conducted masterclasses, and served as a jury member worldwide. In 2023, she took on a new role by joining the faculty at the Peabody Institute.
Her discography includes acclaimed albums of Beethoven's sonatas and Debussy's Etudes, released by Decca and UMG, and Chopin's Etudes by Aulos.
This event is made possible thanks to a gift from Barbara Abell who established The David L. Abell Piano Masters Series in honor of her late husband. Pianos were a passion for David, the owner of David L. Abell's Fine Pianos in Los Angeles, which became a hot-spot for musical legends such as Frank Sinatra, Stevie Wonder, Andre Previn, George Shearing, Bob Hope, Tony Bennett, and Benny Carter. We are proud to celebrate this program as part of the 2023/24 David L. Abell Piano Master Series.