An exclusive Universal Music Korea Artist, Sung-Won has appeared all over the world as a soloist and as a chamber musician.
He has given highly acclaimed solo recitals and performances in prestigious concert halls such as the Alice Tully Hall at New York’s Lincoln Center, the Salle Pleyel in Paris, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Terrace Theater at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC, the Opera City Hall in Tokyo, the Symphony Hall in Osaka, and the National Center for the Performing Arts in Beijing.
As a former exclusive artist for EMI Korea, his all-Kodaly debut album was chosen as Editor’s Choice of the month by Gramophone Magazine (2003), Critic’s Choice of the year by Gramophone (2003), and was nominated for best solo debut album at the Edison Awards in Holland (2003). His other recordings for EMI feature works by Rachmaninoff and Chopin with pianist Ick-Choo Moon (2002), a complete recording of Bach Solo Suites (2005), and the complete Sonatas and Variations for piano and cello by Beethoven with pianist Pascal Devoyon (2007), which were all released to immense positive responses and met with huge success among music lovers and critics alike.
Sung-Won has collaborated with musicians such as Christoph Eschenbach, MyungWhun Chung, Yuri Bashmet, DongSuk Kang, Nobuko Imai and Pascal Devoyon, among many others. His performances of the Saint-Saens Cello Concerto, Brahms Double Concerto, and Tchaikovsky’s Variations on a Rococo Theme with the Orchestre Symphonique Francais were broadcast on French National TV and all over Europe.
As a frequent performer of contemporary music, he regularly commissions new works such as a trio for violin, cello, and DaeGum (Korean traditional wooden flute) by Korean-American composer Jee Young Kim (2006) and a trio for piano, violin, and cello by French composer Pierre Charvet (2006), which was premiered in Saint-Nazaire and Paris.
A native of Seoul, Korea, Sung-Won graduated from the Paris Conservatory and Indiana University as an assistant to Janos Starker. He has served as a juror to the Banff International Chamber Music Competition in Canada, Andre Navarra International Cello Competition in France, Cassado International Cello Competition in Japan. As a recipient of numerous awards, he is currently Professor of Cello at Yonsei University School of Music in Seoul, as well as the Artistic Director of LG Chamber Music School.