About this Artist

Appointed by Gustavo Dudamel in 2023, clarinetist Han Kim is Principal Clarinet of the orchestra of the prestigious Opéra national de Paris, the first and only Asian super-soliste in the orchestra in its 350-year history. He is a leading wind instrument player who breaks the prejudice that “Asians are not good at wind instruments,” and promotes the revival of Korean classical music on the world stage. 

Born in Seoul in February 1996, Kim began playing clarinet at age 8. Since he launched his career at 11, he surprised critics and received favorable reviews, such as “Clarinet prodigy” (Dong-A Ilbo), and “For this gifted child, even his breathing is an instrument” (Chosun-Ilbo). He has performed as a soloist from a young age with leading orchestras such as the SWR Symphony Orchestra, the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Munich Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, and the KBS Symphony Orchestra. 

As a chamber musician, Kim is developing his identity as a young virtuoso through his artistic partnerships with Seong-Jin Cho, Igor Levit, Arto Noras, Daniel Müller-Schott, and others. He has performed at festivals such as the Heidelberg Spring Music Festival in Germany, the City of London Festival, the Pablo Casals Festival in France, the Japan International Clarinet Festival, and the Tongyeong International Music Festival. During the 2021 season, he was selected as Artist in Residence at Kumho Art Hall in Seoul, the first wind instrument player to be chosen for the position. 

An enthusiastic orchestral musician, Kim began his symphonic career as an academist of Zurich Opera orchestra at age 20. He moved to Helsinki in 2019 to join the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, which he served as Second Clarinet player for four years. He regularly worked as guest principal in numerous orchestras such as the London Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre National de France, and BBC National Orchestra of Wales. 

Kim loves the challenge of translating modern and contemporary music into his own style. He has worked with composers such as Magnus Lindberg and Thomas Adès on their orchestral works and performed Brett Dean’s Clarinet Concerto, “Ariel’s Music,” under the baton of the composer. He also premiered Jeajoon Ryu’s Clarinet Sonata and Clarinet Quintet, as well as Fuminori Tanada’s Clarinet Concerto. 

Han Kim won the Special Jury Prize at the Second Beijing International Music Competition at age 13 and won both first prize and the audience prize at the Third Jacques Lancelot International Clarinet Competition in 2016. By winning the second prize, the Henle-Urtext prize, and the audience award at the 68th Munich ARD International Music Competition in 2019, Han proved himself as one of the world’s leading next-generation clarinetists. 

With a YouTube community of 26,000 subscribers and over 10 million views, Kim is building new audiences for clarinet music. Kim completed his studies with honors at the Musikhochschule Lübeck under Sabine Meyer.