Heeseok Elias Akli, 25, a next-generation pianist who grew up between Korea and the United Kingdom, will take the stage at Kumho Art Hall's flagship emerging artist series, "Kumho Rising Star."
Kumho Art Hall announced that it will host "Kumho Rising Star: Heeseok Elias Akli Piano Recital" on June 18 at Kumho Art Hall Yonsei in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul.
"Kumho Rising Star" is a series in which Kumho Art Hall annually selects and introduces promising talents from Korea's classical music scene. Since its launch in 2004, the series has produced leading Korean performers including pianists Kim Sun-wook, Sunwoo Yekwon and Lee Hyuk, violinist Yang In-mo, cellist Han Jae-min and baritone Kim Tae-han.
The featured artist, Heeseok Elias Akli, was born in Shrewsbury, U.K., in 2001 and received his early music education in Korea. He began playing the piano at age five and started studying music in earnest around age eight under Russian pianist Oleg Shchin. He later studied at Chetham's School of Music in the U.K. and the Curtis Institute of Music in the U.S., and recently completed his master's degree at the Juilliard School.
He has also distinguished himself on the international stage. Last year, he won second prize in the piano category at the ARD International Music Competition. He has also won the Piano Island International Competition and was a finalist at the Montreal International Music Competition. His credits include being a finalist at the BBC Young Musician, second prize at the Rome International Piano Competition and a prize at the Aarhus International Piano Competition.
In Korea, he made his debut at the Kumho Young Artist Concert in 2023 and was invited to the Kumho Art Hall opening concert last year. In April this year, he received acclaim for his collaboration with the Daejeon Philharmonic Orchestra at the Seoul Arts Center's Symphony Festival.
For this recital, he will present works that reflect his musical growth. The program consists of Mozart's "Piano Sonata No. 13," Busoni's transcription of Bach's "Chaconne," Schumann's "Symphonic Etudes" and Ravel's "La Valse."
"I want to share with audiences the time I have spent growing while facing myself through music," Akli said. "I selected works that capture the process of finding a balance between musical individuality and tonal color."
Kumho Art Hall described him as "a performer whose strengths lie in radiant tone and delicate expressiveness," adding, "Through this stage, he will fully present his own musical world to Korean audiences."
