[On Stage] Cellist Choi Ha-young "Honored as Lotte Concert Hall Artist... Also Performing First Duo with Younger Sibling"

Next Year's 'Lotte Concert Hall In-House Artist' Performance
Preparing Duo Performance with Younger Brother Violinist Choi Songha

Notable sister musicians, cellist Choi Ha-young (26) and violinist Choi Song-ha (24), will present their first duo performance in Korea next April at Lotte Concert Hall. The stage was arranged as the elder sister, Choi Ha-young, was selected as an in-house artist at Lotte Concert Hall for next year.

At a press conference held on the 21st at Lotte Concert Hall, Choi Ha-young said, "It is an honor to perform twice next year as an in-house artist at Lotte Concert Hall, a venue admired by performers," adding, "I am especially looking forward to performing a duo with my younger sister for the first time in Korea."

Choi Ha-young will perform twice as an in-house artist at Lotte Concert Hall on April 30 and November 26 next year. On April 30, she will collaborate with her sister Choi Song-ha in the second half of the concert. In the first half, Choi Ha-young will perform solo pieces including Bach's Cello Suite No. 3, and in the second half, she will play Kod?ly's Duo for Violin and Cello and Mozart's String Duo together with her sister. Mozart's String Duo is a piece performed as a duo for violin and viola or violin and cello.

Violinist Choi Ha-young, who will be active as an in-house artist at Lotte Concert Hall next year
[Photo by Lotte Cultural Foundation]

Choi Ha-young became a globally recognized cellist after winning first place in the cello category at the 2022 Queen Elizabeth Competition, the world's most prestigious contest. She said, "Since winning the Queen Elizabeth Competition, I have had many opportunities to perform pieces I wanted to try, and meeting many musician colleagues from various countries has been the most inspiring and something I am very grateful for."

The younger sister, Choi Song-ha, is a newly recognized violinist who placed second in the violin category at last year's Montreal International Music Competition. She also advanced to the finals of this year's Queen Elizabeth Competition.

Choi Ha-young said, "My sister and I get along very well," adding, "We lived together for about four years and I have no memories of us fighting."

Choi Ha-young's older sister, Choi Ha-im, is active as a violinist in an orchestra in London, UK. Choi Ha-young explained that their mother loved classical music so much that she took cello lessons as a hobby, which led all three daughters to pursue classical music.

"Whether we were in the living room at home, in the car, or falling asleep, classical music was always playing. I was naturally exposed to classical music. When I was seven, I told my mother that I really wanted to play the cello."

Choi Ha-young was born in 1998 in Bielefeld, Germany. After attending elementary school in Korea, she moved to the UK at age 13, where she studied at the Purcell School of Music under Alexander Boyarsky. From age 16, she studied music in Germany, attending the Kronberg Academy and the Berlin University of the Arts.

Violinist Choi Ha-young, who was selected as the 2025 Lotte Concert Hall In-House Artist, is sharing her thoughts at a press conference held at Lotte Concert Hall on the 21st.
[Photo by Lotte Cultural Foundation]

Choi Ha-young has a strong interest in contemporary music. The piece she performed in the finals of the 2022 Queen Elizabeth Competition was the Cello Concerto by Witold Lutosławski (1913?1994), a 20th-century Polish composer. To study contemporary music, she began a postgraduate performance course at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Madrid, Spain, in September 2022 and completed it last summer.

She said she learned a lot about contemporary music from her teacher Ivan Monighetti at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Sofia, who collaborated with contemporary composers such as Krzysztof Penderecki (1933?2020) and Sofia Gubaidulina (93).

Her November concert next year will also include contemporary music. Alongside works by Debussy and Grieg, she will perform pieces by Czech composer Leo? Jan??ek (1854?1928) and 20th-century Russian composer Alfred Schnittke (1934?1998). Norwegian pianist Joachim Carr (36) will accompany her.

In the April concert, she will perform Baroque music by Bach, and in the November concert, she will conclude with contemporary music.

Choi Ha-young said, "I put a lot of thought into presenting a variety of pieces from different eras," adding, "I am preparing a diverse program that includes not only very familiar pieces but also works that audiences may be encountering for the first time."

Recently, Choi Ha-young has also developed an interest in early music and has started studying it in Berlin.

"About six months ago, just for fun, I tried playing Baroque cello with gut strings once, and I was deeply captivated by the tone color that can be expressed using only Baroque cello, gut strings, and Baroque bow. I felt I definitely wanted to study it. While I still have a strong interest in contemporary music, I definitely want to challenge myself with early music as well."

She said, "I want to keep improving endlessly and plan to continue studying."