Tong-Il Han

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Tong-Il Han (born 1942) is a Korean pianist. Han left Korea in 1954 to study at the Juilliard School in New York City, where his teachers included Rosina Lhévinne. He subsequent career has included numerous performances with major symphony orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Cleveland Orchestra, Detroit Symphony, London Philharmonic, Royal Philharmonic, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Oslo Philharmonic, Polish Radio National Orchestra, and the Russian National Symphony, and he taught in the music departments of Indiana University, Illinois State University, University of North Texas, and Boston University.

Han has recorded Schubert's Sonata No. 20 in A (D 959) and Brahms' Piano Sonata No. 3 in F minor (Opus 5) for SEM Gramophone.

Han returned to Korea in 2005, where he served first as Dean of the College of Music and then as Chair Professor of Music at University of Ulsan. He has also served as Guest Professor at Elisabeth University of Music in Hiroshima, Japan, and in March of 2007 began teaching at Suncheon University in Suncheon, Korea.

Han was a guest on the classic game show I've Got a Secret, hosted by Steve Allen. His secret was that, as a young child, he was discovered during the Korean conflict and General Samuel E. Anderson arranged a tour at the USA bases in Japan where they raised money for Han. In 1954 Han came to US with General Anderson to attend the Juilliard School.