(adjacent to the Beatrice Wood Center for the Arts)
8585 Ojai-Santa Paula Rd. (in Upper Ojai)
Ojai, CA 93023 Detailed map and directions
Program Toccata, Adagio, and Fugue, BWV 564 - Bach-Busoni Impromptu Op. 142, No. 3 - Franz Schubert Variations Serieuses, Op. 54 - Felix Mendelssohn Partita No. 1 in B-flat major, BWV 825 - J.S. Bach La Valse - Maurice Ravel
First Prize, 2012 Young Concert Artists International Auditions
The Korean Concert Society Prize • The John Browning Memorial Award
The Sander Buchman Award • The Slomovic Prize
The Harriman-Jewell Series Prize • Bronder Prize for Piano, Saint Vincent College
The Usedom Music Festival Prize • The Tannery Pond Concert Prize
"Ji is a pianist with an impressive keyboard command. I’ve nothing but praise for his fearless taming of Corigliano’s ‘Etude Fantasy,’ a musical tsunami that left the audience pinned back against the wall. In the Bach-Busoni Toccata, Adagio and Fugue, BWV 564, he drew organ-like sonorities out of the instrument, playing forcefully without any sense of pounding. Ravel’s ‘La Valse’ was also a tour de force, with admirable clarity in the opening pages and the painting of musical pictures even in the most difficult passages” — THE WASHINGTON POST
"Ji proceeded to play the most beautiful recital I've heard this year . . . His playing has its own personality and character. It has a point of view that is distinctly his, that is fresh."
— KANSAS CITY STAR
“He radiated the confidence of a gifted, sensitive young pianist who is clearly going places. Ji revealed a command of the Mozart sound and style that seemed astonishingly mature.”
— CHICAGO TRIBUNE
“South Korean piano star Ji thrills with his interpretation of masterpieces.” — BANGKOK POST
WATCH VIDEO The Real Star of the Grammys was Ji-Yong Kim, the Pianist from That Android Commercial
A new Android commercial that aired during the 2016 Grammys has Twitter and the show's audience at home asking one thing: "Who's that piano player?"
Finally, we have an answer for you: Ji-Yong Kim.
The commercial features Ji playing two pianos, one of which has been tuned entirely to middle C. It's sort of a high-concept jab at Apple and tied to Android's slogan of "Be together, not the same."
But honestly, about the only thing that matters is Ji's high-speed rendition of the third movement of Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata."
Ji
Pianist
Photo credit: Christian Steiner
Hailed by the Chicago Tribune as “a gifted young pianist who is clearly going places,” Ji has been lauded from a young age for his compelling musical presence and impressive technical command. Ji’s 2014-2015 season includes recital appearances at the Summer Stars Chamber Music Festival, Honest Brook Music Festival, Tannery Pond Concerts, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, the South Windsor Cultural Arts Commission, the West Side Concert Series, and the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. He returns to his native Korea to give a six-city recital tour alongside violinist Stefan Jackiw. He appears with the Rockford Symphony, and makes his Alice Tully Hall debut with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, performing Ravel’s Concerto in G Major.
Ji has appeared as soloist with orchestras including, the Toronto Symphony, Nashville Symphony, Bangor Symphony, Fairfax Symphony, Charlotte Philharmonic, Victoria Symphony, New Haven Symphony, New Jersey Symphony, and Santa Rosa Symphony. He has given recitals and educational outreach programs throughout the U.S. at Alys Stephens Performing Arts Center, the Harriman-Jewell Series, Philadelphia’s Morning Musicales, the Buffalo Chamber Music Society, Mary Baldwin College, St. Vincent College, the Evergreen Museum and Library, the Port Washington Library, the Waveny Chamber Music Festival and the Brevard Music Festival. He has also performed in four-hand recitals with Marika Bournaki at the Seoul Art Center and with Charles Wadsworth in a chamber music program of Charles Wadsworth and Friends. Ji has recorded two CDs: Bach Exhibition on the Credia label, and Lisztomania with Credia/Universal Music.
Well-known in Korea, Ji performed the country’s first outdoor classical concert as soloist with the BBC Symphony under Jirí Belohlávek; and performed in Seoul with world-renowned ballerina, Sue Jin Kang and dancers from the Stuttgart Ballet. Ji’s creative vision to make classical music accessible to young people led to his “Stop & Listen” outdoor “guerrilla” performances in 2010, during which he worked with renowned Korean pop-artist Tae Jung Kim to design the “Ji-T” piano, bringing classical music to the public on the busy streets of Seoul. He also collaborated with the Japanese electronic/house music singer FreeTEMPO. From 2008 to 2013, Ji performed as a member of the Ensemble DITTO in Korea and Japan with violinist Stefan Jackiw, violist Richard O’Neill, and cellist Michael Nicolas.
Ji Photo by Dario Acosta
Winner of the 2012 Young Concert Artists International Auditions, Ji made recital debuts at Merkin Concert Hall and the Kennedy Center on the Young Concert Artists Series to rave reviews. He was also honored with eight YCA prizes: the John Browning Memorial Award, the Sander Buchman Award, the Slomovic Concerto Prize, the Korean Concert Society Prize, and four concert prizes: the Harriman-Jewell Series Prize, the Bronder Prize for Piano from Saint Vincent College, the Tannery Pond Concerts Prize and the Usedom Festival Prize in Germany.
Ji began playing the piano at the age of five. At nine, his family relocated to New York, where he studied at the Music Preparatory Division of the Mannes College with Yuri Kim, and later at The Juilliard School’s Pre-College with Yoheved Kaplinsky. At the age of ten, he was the youngest pianist to win the New York Philharmonic’s Young Artists Competition, resulting in a performance at Avery Fisher Hall under Maestro Kurt Masur. He is currently working with Choong-Mo Kang at The Juilliard School.
