Album out now: Minsoo Sohn "Bach: The well-tempered Clavier Book 1"

"Bach's music encourages us to slow down, listen more carefully and reconnect with something deeper." - Minsoo Sohn

Hyperion is pleased to announce the signing of South Korean-American pianist Minsoo Sohn. His debut recording for the label, Book I of Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier, will be released on 2 October, marking the beginning of a long-term artistic partnership.

For over two decades, Minsoo Sohn has built an international reputation as one of the most distinctive musical voices of his generation. After winning the 2006 Honens International Piano Competition, he has performed across Europe, North America and Asia, earning particular acclaim for his searching interpretations of Bach and Beethoven. His recording of Bach's Goldberg Variations was named one of The New York Times' Best Classical Recordings of 2011, while his complete cycle of Beethoven's 32 Piano Sonatas confirmed his reputation for performances of exceptional depth and musical honesty.

However, this new recording represents more than just another milestone. It is the culmination of a personal and artistic journey shaped by injury, reflection and rediscovery.

In 2008, a serious wrist injury interrupted Minsoo’s career and forced him to step away from the concert platform. Rebuilding his technique from the ground up transformed not only how he played, but how he thought about music. Developing a more natural physical relationship with the piano led to a deeper musical understanding that continues to inform every performance. That long process of reinvention ultimately brought him to Bach.

"We live in an increasingly noisy and distracted world," says Minsoo. "Bach’s music encourages us to slow down, listen more carefully and reconnect with something deeper. It reminds us of reflection, humanity and balance."

That philosophy is central to his interpretation of The Well-Tempered Clavier. Rather than approaching the work as a historical monument or technical challenge, Minsoo treats Bach’s music as contemporary and immediate. In his view, every voice counts, and every line adds to a larger whole.

The recording is also a deeply personal tribute to Minsoo's teacher, the legendary American pianist Russell Sherman, who considered The Well-Tempered Clavier one of the highest expressions of the human spirit but who never recorded it himself. After Sherman's death, his wife—fellow pianist and Minsoo’s former teacher—Wha Kyung Byun entrusted Minsoo with Sherman's annotated scores. Studying those scores and Sherman’s markings became the foundation for this recording journey.

Alongside his performing career, Minsoo is widely respected as one of today's leading piano teachers. He has taught at the New England Conservatory, Michigan State University and Korea National University of Arts. He has mentored a generation of outstanding pianists—including Yunchan Lim—and has served on the juries of major international competitions.

Dominic Fyfe, A&R Director of Hyperion Records and Decca Classics, writes: "With this much-anticipated recording we welcome Minsoo to the Hyperion roster for the first in a series of recordings of pillars of the piano repertoire. His Bach is the culmination of a personal and artistic journey reaching back decades to his studies with Russell Sherman and, more recently, to a period of reflection due to physical injury. The result is an interpretation of rare depth and joy, recorded in the magical setting of Schloss Elmau in the Bavarian Alps and produced by Hans Kipfer."

This first Hyperion album is timed to coincide with a major international recital tour, with Minsoo performing Book I of Bach's The Well-Tempered Clavier at the Verbier Festival before touring Canada, Taiwan, Singapore, South Korea and the United States, including a recital at Carnegie Hall in New York.

Tour dates

• 12 October – National Concert Hall, Taipei Event details
• 14 October – Victoria Concert Hall, Singapore Event details
• 16 to 27 October – South Korea recital tour, including Seoul Arts Center Seoul Arts Center recital
• 11 to 22 November – US East Coast tour, including Carnegie Hall, New York Carnegie Hall recital

ABOUT MINSOO SOHN

Described by The New York Times as ‘a genuine artist, with a thoughtfully conceived and poetic interpretation’, Minsoo Sohn is a Korean-American pianist known for his musical intelligence and masterful virtuosity.

Sohn has toured extensively throughout North and South America, Europe, and Korea. As a soloist, he has performed alongside leading orchestras including The Cleveland Orchestra, Boston Symphony, Richmond Symphony, Calgary Philharmonic, Tokyo Philharmonic, Israel Philharmonic, Orchestre Symphonique de Québec, Jerusalem Camerata, Holland Symfonia, National Orchestra of Belgium, Cleveland Chamber Orchestra, Korean National Orchestra, and KBS Symphony, among others; collaborating with conductors such as Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Pietari Inkinen, Wilson Ng, Joel Levi, Jane Glover, Domingo Hindoyan, and Sasha Goetzel.

Recent highlights include a duo tour with fellow pianist Yunchan Lim across Korea and at the Verbier, Gstaad Menuhin, and La Roque d’Antheron festivals in Europe; and a series of recitals playing Beethoven’s sonatas. The 2025/26 season also saw Sohn perform on tour alongside the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra, Wiener Symphoniker, and the Academy of St Martin in the Fields. In the 2026/27 season, Sohn will focus on recital appearances across Europe, North America and Asia, performing Bach’s Well-tempered Clavier, and including major stages such as Carnegie Hall.

Sohn owes much of his success to his mentors, Russell Sherman and Wha Kyung Byun, with whom he studied at the New England Conservatory in Boston. After teaching at Michigan State University, Sohn returned to Korea as a much sought-after performer and teacher, and he joined the faculty of the Korean National University of Arts. He has also adjudicated on the jury of prominent international piano competitions, including the Honens, Montreal, and Busoni Competitions. In 2023, Sohn joined the piano faculty at New England Conservatory.