Daejin KIM
Daejin Kim is one of the most leading pianists and pedagogues in Korea. He won in 1985 the first prize in the prestigious 6th Robert Casadesus International Piano Competition (presently, the Cleveland Competition). In 1986, Mr. Kim made his New York debut and received an exceptionally favorable review from the critic for the New York Times who wrote that “Daejin Kim demonstrated all the accouterments necessary for a successful solo career.” Since then, he has performed in recital and with orchestra in major cities throughout the United States, Europe and Asia.
In 1994, Mr. Kim’s family moved to Korea and since then he has become a prime example of that rare individual who is able to successfully combine both the demanding careers of a concert artist and the most productive teacher. His master classes have drawn international recognition and at the same time, he has been able to maintain a full schedule of performances such as a historic one-day performance of the complete Beethoven's Piano Concertos (2001) and the complete cycle of the Mozart Piano Concertos (2002-2004). His recent discography includes 2 Piano Concertos by Mozart (K. 488 & K. 453), which he conducted the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra from the keyboard (Sony Label).
In recognition of his achievements, he was awarded “the Professor of the Year” Award by the Music Association of Korea in 2006, and recently, he received a decoration for “the Artist of the Year” by the Ministry of Culture in Korea.
Prof. Kim has been jury member for the Busoni, the Gina Bachauer, Clara Haskil, the Beethoven (Bonn), the Cleveland, the Hamamatsu, the Paderewski, the Leeds and the Queen Elizabeth and the Rubinstein International Competition.
His students have earned the prizes in the major international competitions including the first prize at the 2005 Clara Haskil, the Leeds International Competition and the Takamatsu International Competition.
Daejin Kim received a Bachelor’s, a Master’s, and a Doctoral degree from the Juilliard School where he studied with Martin Canin. He has been a member of the associate faculty at the Manhattan School of Music. He is currently the Professor of Piano at the Korean National University of Arts and the Director of the Korea National Institute for the Gifted in Arts.
After close collaboration with the Suwon Philharmonic Orchestra, which is one of the prestigious orchestras in Korea, as soloist and conductor for many years, he became its Music Director in 2008. Mr. Kim and the Suwon Philharmonic Orchestra made very successful debut concerts at the Carnegie Hall, the Musikverein, the Dvořák Hall, Herkulessaal and the Marano Festival in Italy. Recently, Kim and the Suwon Philharmonic Orchestra have performed the complete cycle of Beethoven and Tchaikovsky Symphony which have been released on the Sony Label.
