Haesue Lee

“Praised for her ‘sweet tone and ability to step into an exciting dialogue with the orchestra’ (Süddeutsche Zeitung),” , Violist Haesue Lee, has won first prize and audience prize, for both the 72nd ARD International Music Competition and the 2018 Primrose International Viola Competition, establishing her as one of the most exciting violists of her generation.
Renowned for her magnetic stage presence, Haesue made her early debut at the Carnegie Hall at the age of twelve. She has appeared as soloist with distinguished orchestras including the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra, Gürzenich Orchestra of Cologne, Staatsoper Orchestra of Hannover, Munich Chamber Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, Berg Symphony Orchestra, and the Dessau Anhalt Philharmonic Orchestra. She was the 2023/24 Artist-in-Residence with the Osnabrück Symphony Orchestra. Her performances have taken her to many of the world’s leading concert halls, including Carnegie Hall, Suntory Hall, Seoul Arts Center, Kölner Philharmonie, Konzerthaus Berlin, Liederhalle Stuttgart, Kaufman Music Center, and the Kimmel Center.
Haesue’s deepest artistic inspiration comes from musical collaboration. As a passionate chamber musician, she has been invited to perform at prestigious venues and festivals such as the Korean Presidential “Blue House”, Marlboro Music Festival, Ravinia Festival, and the Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festival. In the past seasons, she toured leading European venues as a representative of the Curtis Institute of Music and the winners of the ARD Competition. She has had the privilege of collaborating with many of today’s most celebrated musicians, including Tabea Zimmermann, Janine Jansen, Nobuko Imai, Mihaela Martin, Kirill Gerstein, Vadim Gluzman, Gary Hoffman, Lynn Harrell, and Miriam Fried.

Haesue studied at the Curtis Institute of Music with Hsin-Yun Huang and Roberto Díaz. She earned her Master’s degree with Tabea Zimmermann at the Hanns Eisler School for Music.

Since 2023, she has been studying at Kronberg Academy with Tabea Zimmermann, funded by the Ono Family patronage.

Haesue performs on a viola by Gasparo de Salò dating from 1590 on loan from the Samsung Foundation.