Commissioner /

Franziska Lee Jee-Eun



The pianist Franziska Lee, celebrated as a "lyrical jewel" by the press, is one of today’s leading young musicians. Born in Seoul, South Korea, she started her Bachelor studies with Prof. HeeSung Joo at the Seoul National University’s College of Music and graduated summa cum laude in 2011. In 2011 she arrived in Germany as a scholarship holder of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) to take a master’s degree and concert soloist degree with Prof. Sontraud Speidel at the University of Music Karlsruhe. She found further inspiration with Prof. Peter Lang from the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria.

Franziska Lee won first prizes at numerous international competitions such as the 2010 “International Piano Competition of Korea”, the Viennese competition “Prof. Dichler-Wettbewerb” and “Concorso Internazionale di Esecuzione Musicale Giovani Musicisti” in Treviso, Italy. She received further prizes and special awards in 2012 at the “Concorso internazionale di musica Euterpe”, the “Concorso internazionale di Esecuzione Pianistica Premio Euterpe” and the “International Music Competition” in Padova. In 2013 Lee won first prizes at the “Dr. Hermann Büttner” piano competition of the University of Music Karlsruhe and in 2016 at the “Grand Prize Virtuoso International Music Competition” in London.

Franziska Lee performs in renowned concert halls across Germany and all over Europe. Several engagements led the young artist to Minneapolis (USA) where she gave guest performances at the “International e-Piano MusikFest”. In 2015 she gave solo performances as part of the “Rising Stars” program of the Universities of Music Karlsruhe, Freiburg and Stuttgart together with the Polish symphonic orchestra of Toru?, conducted by Maciej Niesiolowksi. These concerts were followed by debuts with the Karlsruhe Chamber Orchestra, the Dortmunder Philharmoniker, the Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz and the Philharmonie Baden-Baden, as well as engagements in radio and film productions. In 2018 her Debut-CD “L’HEURE EXQUISE” was released by Capriccio/Naxos. BBC London Radio, BR-Klassik, Deutschlandfunk Kultur, Kulturradio rbb and SWR2 presented and broadcasted this recording.

Besides her concert activities Franziska Lee is also involved in supporting up-and-coming musicians. Since 2017 she teaches at the University of Music Karlsruhe and she is a regular juror at “Jugend musiziert”- Germany and at international competitions.