[Asia Economy Reporter Donghyun Choi] Pianist Park Jaehong (22) won first place at the 63rd Ferruccio Busoni International Piano Competition. This is the second time a Korean has won this competition since Moon Jiyoung in 2015.
The Kumho Cultural Foundation announced on the 3rd (local time) that pianist Park Jaehong, a Kumho Young Artist alumnus, won first place and four special awards at the 63rd Ferruccio Busoni International Piano Competition held in Bolzano, Italy. Pianist Kim Dohyun, a Kumho Rising Star alumnus, won second place and the award for best performance of a contemporary work.
Park Jaehong will receive a first prize cash award of 22,000 euros (approximately 30.21 million KRW) and a total of 4,000 euros (approximately 5.49 million KRW) in special prize money. Additionally, as a winner’s privilege, he will have a 2023 concert tour with the Haydn Orchestra, and as a special chamber music prize, he will have the opportunity to tour with the Schumann Quartet in February 2023.
Park Jaehong debuted at the 2014 Kumho Young Artist Concert. He achieved 4th place at the 2014 Ettlingen Young Artists International Piano Competition, 1st place at the 2015 Cleveland Young Artists International Piano Competition, 1st place at the 2016 Gina Bachauer Young Artists International Piano Competition, and reached the finals of the 2017 Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Competition. He has performed with orchestras including the Israel Philharmonic, Jerusalem Camerata, Utah Symphony, KBS Symphony Orchestra, and Gyeonggi Philharmonic Orchestra, and has given performances in Italy, Argentina, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, and the United States.
Kim Dohyun will receive a second prize cash award of 10,000 euros (13.73 million KRW). Kim Dohyun won joint second place without a first prize at the 2017 Verbier Festival Vandome Prize Competition, first place at the New York Young Concert Artists Auditions, and a special semi-final prize at the 2019 Tchaikovsky Competition. Notably, at the Tchaikovsky Competition, he was specially invited by Valery Gergiev to perform on the winner’s gala concert stage, gaining significant attention.
The Ferruccio Busoni International Piano Competition was established in 1949 to honor the Italian composer Ferruccio Busoni. Legendary pianists such as Claudio Arrau, Wilhelm Backhaus, Alfred Cortot, Walter Gieseking, Dinu Lipatti, Arthur Rubinstein, and Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli participated as honorary jurors, drawing great attention from the competition’s inception.
The competition has produced world-renowned pianists including Alfred Brendel, J?rg Demus, Martha Argerich, Garrick Ohlsson, and Richard Goode, firmly establishing itself as one of the most prestigious piano competitions. Korean past laureates include Seo Hyekyung (1980 joint second place without first prize), Lee Yunsu (1997 joint second place without first prize), Son Minsu (1999 third place), Cho Hyejung (2001 second place), Lim Dongmin (2001 third place), Kim Hyejin (2005 third place), Moon Jiyoung (2015 first place), and Won Jaeyeon (2017 second place). Baek Geonwoo received a gold medal equivalent to an encouragement award in 1969.
From 1949 to 2001, the competition was held annually, but since 2002 it has been held biennially, with preliminaries in even years and finals in odd years. The 63rd competition was held following preliminaries conducted in August last year, selecting a total of 33 finalists. The finals took place locally in Bolzano, Italy, from the 24th of last month until the day before yesterday. Excluding three participants who could not attend due to COVID-19 and three withdrawals, 27 finalists participated. The finals consisted of a semi-final solo recital, a first final round, a second final round featuring chamber music performances with the Schumann Quartet, and the final concerto round.
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