Press

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  29 Oct 20 Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 1; Klavierstücke, Op. 118
  Recording

  “…Kim demonstrates a magical sensitivity of touch and phrasing to rival even (Emil) Gilels at his majestic prime…”

  Classical Music Reviews

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  10 Oct 19 Mendelssohn Piano Concerto No. 1 in G Minor & Capriccio brilliant in B Minor for Piano and Orchestra
  Chicago Symphony Orchestra (Debut)

  “…He played Mendelssohn’s lush, virtuosic “Piano Concerto No. 1 in G Minor” and “Capriccio brilliant in B Minor for Piano and Orchestra” to ravishing, rippling effect, moving seamlessly from the stormiest passages to the most lyrical sequences with an astounding physical and emotional fluidity…”

  Hedy Weiss, WTTW News

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  08 Jan 19 Mozart Piano Sonata in D Major K.311
  Wigmore Hall, London

  “… Kim’s fluent and fabulously secure technique enables him to sail through Mozart’s balancing act of cause and effect with flawless results, but he also admits space and sweetness to take you beyond it’s infectious energy…”

  Classical Source

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  15 Jun 18 Greig Piano Concerto
  Royal Festival Hall, London

  “…Sunwook Kim’s playing in the Concerto was a delight. His rhythmically incisive, crisp, clear-cut delivery was highly attractive, his presentation was stylish but unsentimental and perfect for Grieg’s delicately wrought music. He brought a notably subtle blend of power and refinement to the virtuosic demands of the first movement cadenza, and his quietly reflective account of the lyrical central movement was supported by some lovely playing from the orchestra, particularly the strings…”

  Seen and Heard International

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  06 Mar 18 Brahms Piano Concerto in D Minor
  Halle Orchestra, Bridgewater Hall

  Kim’s perceived chemistry with the Hallè was again apparent in his magisterial performance of the D minor Concerto conducted by Karina Canellakis. The fluidity of Kim’s technique, combined with an intensity of expression and myriad colouring of notes, makes this epic concerto an unforgettable experience.

  Wharfedale Observer

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  01 May 17 Brahms Piano Concerti 1 & 2
  recording

  “Elder and the Hallé provide a dramatic orchestral introduction to commence the massive and dramatic first movement, Maestoso. It just pulsates with drama. One immediately notices how decisively Kim strikes the keys and everything is shaped with clarity and immediacy. The glorious lyrical theme with Kim’s playing alone is near spine-tingling, so introspective.”
  Musicweb International

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  17 Apr 17 Beethoven Sonatas No.8, 14, 23
  recording

  “Kim has an unerring sense of underlying harmonic tension and tonal design, plus the skill to apply colour and blend accordingly, which gives his playing both eloquence and architectural solidity and saves him from having to rely on gimmicky exaggeration to make his mark.”
  Gramophone May 2017

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  25 Oct 16 Recital
  Wigmore Hall

  “The remoteness of the opening instantly gave you an entrée into Kim’s acute sensibility, in which every inflection of weight, dynamics and sublimely poised decoration released Mozart’s elaborate web of balance and consequence. This is music where there is nowhere to hide. It’s a conundrum that musicians wrestle with, and Kim addressed it with rare communicative depth.”
  ClassicalSource.com

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  03 Mar 16 Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No. 3
  Hamburger Symphoniker

  “Die ungeheure Virtuosität der wilden Kaskaden, die sich dauernd wie ausbrechende Geysire ins Geschehen schalteten, beherrschte Kim faszinierend”
  Die Welt

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  30 Mar 16 Franck, Brahms Prelude, Chorale et Fugue, Sonata No. 3
  Recording

  “The fluttering figurations of the Prelude speak with a delicate poignancy and the Fugue blossoms into that ecstatic exaltation so characteristic of Franck… The brief Intermezzo prepares a truly impressive finale. Kim delineates the proliferation of thematic material with aplomb, pulls off a galvanising fugato and achieves heft in the lonely cadential chords that end the piece.”
  Gramophone, April 2016

  “Sunwook Kim brings some splendid pianism and conceptual thinking to both works: a full-toned touch and resonant atmosphere connects the Prelude, Choral et Fugue strongly to Franck’s organ works.”
  BBC Music Magazine, June 2016

  “Kim rend compte du foisonnement de l’écriture avec simplicité et raffinement… (cette version) s’impose par son intériorité, son souffle et son inépuisable beauté formelle.”
  Diapason June 16

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  29 Apr 15 Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No. 3
  Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Lighthouse Poole.

  “It very much felt as though Karabits and Kim had been holding everything in reserve for this movement, a thrilling, roller-coaster ride of emotion to the very end. In the contrasting episodes, there was a blend of humour, playfulness and reflection; Kim again showed the huge range of his pianistic talent in the set of four variations squeezed into the overall structure of the movement.”
  Bachtrack.com 

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  25 Jun 14 Recital
  City of London Festival

  “The swell of suspended harmonies was perfectly controlled, the chords perfectly struck and voiced, and Kim always kept the sense of restless searching at just the right level of intensity.” ( Scriabin, Sonata no. 3)
  The Guardian

  “His real strengths were to be found in the second theme of this movement, where emotions melted, and in the ‘Aria’, a message of love to Clara, which was taken slowly but with phrasing beautifully aligned. The lead out from capricious scherzo to the determined finale was ideally wrought and the transition from darkness to light was fully affirmative.” (Schumann; Sonata no. 1)
  Classicalsource.com

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  14 Feb 14 Unsuk CHIN Piano Concerto
  NDR Symphony Orchestra Hamburg

  “…ein Tastenteugel sondergleichen, dem kein Hindernisrennen zu vertrackt, kein Motivpuzzle zu verzwickt und kein Partikelgestöber zu chaotisch ist. ”
  Die Welt, 17 February 2014

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  01 Nov 13 Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 5
  Seoul Philhamonic Orchestra, Mwung Whun Chung, recording

  “Kim and Chung seem very much on the same wavelength, interpretatively, from the opening flourish onwards, and they surmount this work’s tricky transitions with great naturalness… The finale has an infectious energy to it, Kim making the trenchant rhythms sound lithe rather than obstreperous.”
  Gramophone, November 2013

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  30 Nov 12 Concert
  London Symphony Orchestra

  “The interplay between Kim and an LSO on peak form took us to the heart of the matter, with an acute sense of classical style rare in any pianist. Everything flowed effortlessly and yet had the ‘gift to be simple’ whilst never sounding bland.”
  Classical Source.com

  “Kim’s strong supple fingers and super-restrained use of the sustaining pedal pulled focus on brilliant articulation and though he didn’t go in for the kind of heightened poetry that can take this piece into the realms of the other worldly his strong singing tone was as honest as it was expressive.”
  The Arts Desk