Renowned pianist Young Hyun Cho is set to continue her ambitious journey of recording all 32 Beethoven piano sonatas with the upcoming release of Beethoven’s Piano Sonatas Nos. 12–15 on the Blue Griffin label. The album, catalogued as BGR685, will be available on Friday, June 27, 2025. This follows her critically acclaimed interpretation of Beethoven’s Last Three Piano Sonatas previously released by Sony, which garnered high praise from audiences and critics around the world.
Founded in 2000 by the celebrated pianist, composer, and recording engineer Sergei Kvitko, Blue Griffin has produced nearly 300 recordings and is recognized for its exceptional audio quality. As Classics Today notes, “The lifelike, vibrant engineering typifies Blue Griffin’s usual high sonic standards.” Similarly, The Whole Note lauds the label’s commitment to high production values and artistic integrity.
Known for her idiomatic interpretation, technical brilliance, and deep understanding of a wide range of repertoire, Young Hyun Cho has graced some of the world’s most prestigious concert halls. Her performances have taken her from the Vienna Musikverein and Berlin Philharmonic Concert Hall to Smetana Hall in Prague, Liszt Academy’s Solti Hall in Budapest, and the Seoul Arts Center in Korea. A review from the Aachen newspaper in Germany described her as “a blessed interpreter of Beethoven,” commending her expressive range, passionate delivery, and rich touch.
Born in Korea to a non-musical family, Young Hyun Cho discovered Western classical music through her father, an anesthesiologist who frequently listened to classical radio. Her passion for piano began early and grew rapidly, leading her to attend Yewon Middle School, Seoul Arts High School, and Seoul National University. She later moved to the United States, earning a Master of Music and Graduate Performance Diploma from the Peabody Conservatory, followed by a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the Eastman School of Music. Her principal teachers included Nelita True, Boris Slutsky, and Mikyung Kim.
Young Hyun Cho’s career as a soloist includes performances with the Berlin Symphony Orchestra, Euro Sinfonietta Wien, Filarmonica della Calabria, North Czech Philharmonic Orchestra Teplice, Budapest Symphony Chamber Orchestra M.A.V., Bohuslav Martinu Philharmonic Orchestra, Korean Broadcasting System Symphony Orchestra, Korean Symphony Orchestra, Seoul National Symphony Orchestra, and the Eastman Symphony Orchestra.
Currently, she serves as Associate Professor of Piano at Michigan State University College of Music, following her previous faculty position at the University of Texas at Arlington.
Outside of music, Young Hyun Cho shares a life with her husband, Dr. Dean Lee, a distinguished nuclear physicist and head of the Department of Theoretical Nuclear Science at Michigan State University. He also leads the Advanced Studies Gateway at the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB). The couple co-organizes the FRIB concert series and are both passionate animal advocates, living with four rescue dogs. Fluent in English and Korean, Ms. Cho also studies Italian, German, and Spanish.