Korean classical musicians make international splash

The Korea Times

The Korea Times

Entertainment & Arts

Thu, September 28, 2023 | 17:29

Music

Korean classical musicians make international splash

Posted : 2022-06-09 17:05

Updated : 2022-06-12 14:13

Cellist Choi Ha-young / Courtesy of Kumho Cultural Foundation

By Dong Sun-hwa

A growing number of Korean classical musicians are stepping into the global spotlight after taking top honors at the most coveted music contests around the world.

Cellist Choi Ha-young, 24, made headlines recently for winning the Queen Elisabeth Competition for cello, which is considered as one of the three most prestigious contests for classical musicians along with the Tchaikovsky Competition in Russia and the Chopin Piano Competition in Poland.

Choi was announced as the winner on June 4 in Brussels, Belgium, after edging out Yibai Chen from China and Marcel Johannes Kits from Estonia, who ranked second and third, respectively. Choi received 25,000 euros ($27,000) in prize money.

She is the first Korean winner in the cello category since its creation in 2017. Before Choi, the last Korean to come first in the Queen Elisabeth Competition was violinist Lim Ji-young, who achieved the feat in 2015.

"I felt like my heart stopped when I was announced as the winner," Choi said in her acceptance speech. "I am so happy to be recognized by the audience of the Queen Elisabeth Competition, who truly love music. While I was performing, I felt that I was part of a music festival."

Choi, who studied at the Korean National University of Arts and the Kronberg Academy in Germany, clinched awards in numerous international contests such as the Krzysztof Penderecki Competition in Poland and the International Johannes Brahms Competition in Austria.

Violist Park Ha-yang / Courtesy of Park Ha-yang

Choi is not the only musician creating an international splash. On June 3, violist Park Ha-yang, 23, became the first Korean to take home the first prize at the Tokyo International Viola Competition, the only international competition for viola in Asia-Pacific, founded by prominent Japanese violist Nobuko Imai. She also received 1 million yen ($7,500) as an award.

The second and third prizes went to Emiko Yuasa of Japan and Sao Soulez Lariviere from France, respectively.

Park, an alumna of the Escuela Superior de Musica Reina Sofia in Madrid, Spain, is currently studying at Kronberg Academy in Germany.

On May 29, Yang In-mo, 27, wrote a new page in history by becoming the first Korean violinist to win the XII International Jean Sibelius Violin Competition in Helsinki, Finland.

He won a prize of 30,000 euros ($32,000) after outperforming Nathan Meltzer from the United States and Dmytro Udovychenko from Ukraine. For the first time since the launch of the contest, Yang was also given a non-fungible token (NFT) trophy.

Violinist Yang In-mo / Courtesy of Kumho Cultural Foundation

"I am happy to have a good result after pouring a lot of time and effort into practicing," Yang said through his agency, Credia Music & Artists. "I think this competition has helped all participants learn from each other."

The International Jean Sibelius Violin Competition is one of the oldest violin competitions in the world. This year, the total number of applicants was 240.

Yang studied at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston and is currently based in Berlin. He will team up with the Busan Philharmonic Orchestra for a performance at the Busan Cultural Center, Nov. 2.

sunhwadong@koreatimes.co.kr