Hugh Sung

Hugh Sung (born September 25, 1969) is a Korean-American classical pianist.

Early life

Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Sung began studying the piano with his mother at the age of three. At the age of eight, he began private studies with Eleanor Sokoloff. Sung made his debut with the Philadelphia Orchestra three years later, performing the Mozart Piano Concerto in B-flat major, K. 456 with his own cadenza. In 1982, at the age of thirteen, Sung was admitted to the Curtis Institute of Music, where he continued his musical studies with Eleanor Sokoloff, Jorge Bolet and Seymour Lipkin.

Career

Hugh Sung performing in South Korea

By the time Sung graduated from the Curtis Institute of Music with a bachelor's degree, he had performed again with the Philadelphia Orchestra, toured extensively with the South Jersey Symphony Orchestra, and debuted with the Concerto Soloists Orchestra (currently known as the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia).[1] During his final year of study, Sung started touring collaboratively with legendary violinist Aaron Rosand. That partnership eventually led to his appointment as staff pianist at the Curtis Institute in 1993. Three years later, he was named Director of Instrumental Accompaniment, and then in 1998, Director of Student Recitals.

Visual Recital performance by Hugh Sung in Recife, Brazil 2006

Sung has toured extensively in cities throughout the United States, Canada, South America, England, Japan, Brazil, and South Korea.[2] He has collaborated with renowned musicians such as Julius Baker, Jeffrey Khaner, Hilary Hahn and Leila Josefowicz, as well as contemporary composers such as Jennifer Higdon, Robert Maggio, and Harold Boatrite.[3][4][5] Sung has recorded for Naxos Records, Albany Records, Vox, Biddulph, I Virtuosi, CRI, and Avie labels.

Sung has been an advocate for utilizing cutting-edge technologies to enhance the artistry of the classical musician.[5][6] He developed a customized database to create a paperless office for his administrative work at Curtis. In 2002, shortly after the first Tablet PC's were introduced by Microsoft to the public, Sung adapted an early model for use as a digital music score reader with a foot pedal-activated page turning system.[7][8] Currently, he is experimenting with live visualization techniques using programs such as Liquid Media and particle generators such as particleIllusion in a framework called the Visual Recital.[6]

Discography

  • Sung, Hugh, (piano); Rosand, Aaron (violin) (December 3, 1996). "Brahms: The 3 Violin Sonatas". Vox Classical.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  • Sung, Hugh; Bollinger, Blair; Carlson, Eric; Haroz, Nitzan (November 17, 1998). "Fancy Free: Music for Bass Trombone". D'note Classics.
  • Sung, Hugh, (piano); Rosand, Aaron (violin) (July 29, 2003). "My Legacy". Artek.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  • Sung, Hugh; Khaner, Jeffrey (August 5, 2003). "French Flute Music". Avie.
  • Sung, Hugh; Rosand, Aaron (June 12, 2007). "Brahms: 2 Violin Sonatas; 21 Hungarian Dances; Joachim: Romance in B Flat". Musical Concepts.
  • Sung, Hugh; Vinci, Mark; Vinci, Jan; Higdon, Jennifer (July 1, 2007). "Global Flutescape". Albany Records.

References

  1. ^ The Philadelphia Inquirer (April 5, 1994). "Judy Geist Plays Viola with Pianist Hugh Sung". Page E02 - Archive. The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved September 29, 2007.
  2. ^ JC OnLine (2006). "Na terceira noite, Virtuosi realiza intercâmbio musical" (in Portuguese). Sistema Jornal do Commercio de Comunicação. Archived from the original on November 28, 2007. Retrieved September 29, 2007.
  3. ^ Tom Di Nardo (2007). "Jeffrey Khaner to take the spotlight". Philadelphia Daily News. Archived from the original on December 17, 2007. Retrieved September 29, 2007.
  4. ^ Sony BMG Music (2007). "Liner Notes". Sony BMG Music Entertainment. Archived from the original on December 17, 2007. Retrieved September 29, 2007.
  5. ^ a b Pianoteq Reviews (2007). "Pianoteq reviews". MODARTT. Retrieved September 29, 2007.
  6. ^ a b Sequenza21 (2007). "Hugh Sung's Magical Mystery Tour". Sequenza21. Archived from the original on October 11, 2007. Retrieved September 29, 2007.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  7. ^ Warner Crocker (2006). "Hugh Sung: Making Music In His Life With Ink". GottaBeMobile.com. Archived from the original on November 27, 2007. Retrieved September 29, 2007.
  8. ^ tabletPC.it (2006). "Hugh Sung, Director of Instrumental Accompaniment and Student Recitals" (in Italian). tabletPC.it. Retrieved September 29, 2007. [dead link‍]