Violinist Lee Hyun-jung took 2nd place in the violin category at the 2024 George Enescu International Competition, which concluded on the 16th (local time) in Bucharest, Romania, and received two special awards (Best Performance of the Commissioned Piece and Audience Award), the Kumho Cultural Foundation announced.
On the day of the final held at the Romanian Athenaeum, Lee Hyun-jung performed Brahms' Violin Concerto with the George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Alan Buribayev. Three competitors participated in the final, with Mayumi Kanagawa (30) from the United States taking 1st place and Wakana Kimura (23) from Japan placing 3rd.
Lee Hyun-jung, a Kumho Young Artist alumna born in 2010 (aged 13), was the youngest among the 44 violinists who advanced to the finals, including Ukraine's Margarita Poshebut.
Lee Hyun-jung said, "Although this is a competition for adults, I participated because I wanted to listen to and experience other performers' music directly and study a wide range of repertoire." She added, "I achieved unexpectedly good results and gave my best with gratitude in every round." Lee received a total prize money of 13,000 euros (approximately 19.17 million KRW) for her 2nd place and special awards.
The George Enescu International Competition is held as part of the George Enescu Festival, the largest event in Eastern Europe. It was established in 1958 to honor Enescu, a Romanian composer and violinist. Initially, the competition focused on violin and piano categories, later adding vocal and composition categories, and was held every three years until 1971. Since 2009, the cello category was added, and currently, the competition is held biennially, covering four categories: piano, violin, cello, and composition. The competition has produced notable musicians such as violinists Silvia Marcovici, Alexandru Tomescu, Valery Sokolov, pianists Radu Lupu, Dmitri Alexeev, and Ariel Bardi. Among Korean winners who are Kumho Young Artists alumni are pianist Son Jung-bum (2nd place without 1st in 2011), Park Yeon-min (1st place in 2020), violinists Shin Ara (2nd place in 2009), Bae Won-hee (3rd place in 2014), Kim Gye-hee (1st place in 2016), Kim Dong-hyun (2nd place in 2016), Wi Jae-won (2nd place in 2020), and cellists Hong Eun-sun (1st place in 2014) and Han Jae-min (1st place in 2020).
Lee Hyun-jung gained attention after performing at the 2022 Kumho Young Artist Concert and winning the overall Grand Prize at the Rising Star Grand Prix International Music Competition and 1st place at the Leonid Kogan International Competition in the same year. She has previously won top prizes and grand prizes at major domestic competitions such as the Dong-A Junior Music Competition, Seongjeong Music Competition, KCO National Music Competition, and Kwon Hyuk-joo Music Competition, as well as consecutive victories at the Manhattan International Music Competition, Napolinova International Competition, NJS Young Artist International Competition, Beethoven International Competition, and Sonus Art The Young Soloist Audition. She is currently a second-year student at Yewon School, studying under Lee Seon-yi.
The 2024 George Enescu International Competition still has the piano category remaining. The semifinals will be held on the 20th, followed by the finals on the 22nd.
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