Sung Chang

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Sung Chang, born in 1986 in Seoul, Korea, is a South Korean concert pianist who became internationally known as the youngest winner of the Nagoya International Piano Competition in Japan. He started playing piano as a child because his mother was a pianist and gave his first public recital at age five. At 16 he entered the Korea National University of Arts for his undergraduate studies. He then studied in Hannover, Germany with Vladimir Krainev and Ewa Kupiec, earning a Master of Music in Künstlerische Ausbildung and a postgraduate Soloklasse at the Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover. He later continued his studies at the USC Thornton School of Music in the United States.

Chang performs around the world as a soloist and recitalist. He has appeared at major venues such as the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Teatro Lirico di Cagliari, and the Seoul Arts Center, and he has played with orchestras including the Phoenix Symphony and the KBS Symphony Orchestra. He has a large repertoire, with more than 20 concertos and many complete recital programs, and he has given concerts in many countries including Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, France, the Czech Republic, Japan, Taiwan, China, Korea, and the United States. In chamber music, he helped found the Los Angeles Ensembles quartet and has won prizes at international competitions, such as the Boulder International Chamber Music Competition (2nd prize) with violinist YuEun Kim. He also serves as music director and conductor for the Beethoven Project Orchestra in Orange County, California.

Chang has won more than ten international competitions around the world. His awards include first prize and audience prize at the Chopin-Gesellschaft Hannover Internationaler Klavierwettbewerb, first prize and a special award for “Best Performance of a Virtuoso Piece” at the Bösendorfer USASU International Piano Competition, and silver medals with special prizes at the San Antonio and New Orleans International Piano Competitions. In November 2018 he released his first CD, Aleph. In March 2019 he performed Grieg’s Piano Concerto with the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra. On March 6, 2024, it was revealed that he is the popular YouTube piano creator Traum Piano.