Sunwook Kim Will Perform With The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra

The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra will present a special concert series featuring pianist and conductor Sunwook Kim, who makes his debut appearance with the orchestra. The program highlights Kim in a dual role—both leading the orchestra and performing as solo pianist—offering a rare format that blends concerto performance with symphonic conducting.

The concerts are scheduled across multiple cities in Israel in April 2026. Performances will take place on April 15, 2026 at 20:00 in Tel Aviv, April 16, 2026 at 20:00 in Haifa, April 18, 2026 at 21:00 in Tel Aviv, and April 19, 2026 at 20:00 in Jerusalem. Each concert runs for approximately 90 minutes including intermission and is held in major venues including the Charles Bronfman Auditorium in Tel Aviv and the Jerusalem Theatre.

The program includes three major works. Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4 opens the concert, followed by Mendelssohn’s Overture to A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and concluding with Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 4 (“Italian”). The selection combines classical concerto repertoire with orchestral staples known for their lyrical and energetic character.

About Sunwook Kim

Pianist and conductor Sunwook Kim came to international recognition when he won the prestigious Leeds International Piano Competition in 2006, aged just 18, becoming the competition’s youngest winner for 40 years, as well as its first Asian winner. Since then, he has established a reputation as one of the finest pianists of his generation, appearing as a concerto soloist in the subscription series of some of the world’s leading orchestras including the Berliner Philharmoniker, London Symphony Orchestra, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Staatskapelle Dresden, Chicago Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester, Finnish Radio Symphony and Philharmonia Orchestra. Conductor collaborations include with Jakub Hrůša, Nathalie Stutzmann, Daniel Harding, Paavo Järvi, John Elliot Gardiner, Myung-Whun Chung, Osmo Vänskä, and Vladimir Ashkenazy. Recital highlights include regular appearances at the Wigmore Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Philharmonie de Paris and Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, Piano aux Jacobin Festival, AIX Festival, La Roque d’Antheron International Piano Festival as well as at the Beethoven-Haus Bonn, Teatro Colon Buenos Aires, Kioi Hall in Tokyo, Symphony Hall Osaka and Seoul Arts Centre.

Sunwook Kim’s debut recital disc was released on the Accentus label in October 2015, featuring Beethoven’s Waldstein and Hammerklavier sonatas; this was followed by a recording of Franck’s Prelude, choral et fugue paired with Brahms Sonata No.3. He has released further recordings of Beethoven’s Piano Sonatas and his most recent chamber music release features the Violin Sonatas of Beethoven in collaboration with Clara Jumi Kang. His discography also includes multiple concerto recordings; on Accentus Music with the Staatskapelle Dresden conducted by Myung-Whun Chung featuring Brahms’ Piano Concerto no. 1 (2019), a CD featuring Unsuk Chin’s Piano Concerto (2014) which attracted outstanding reviews and awards, and a CD featuring Beethoven Concerto No.5 (2013).