18-Year-Old Pianists Kim Sehyun and Lee Hyo Achieve 1st and 3rd Place at Long Thibaud Competition

Kim Sehyun Wins with Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3 in the Final
Following 2022 Winner Lee Hyuk, Younger Brother Lee Hyo Also Places

Kim Sehyun (18) and Lee Hyo (18), pianists born in 2007, took first and third place respectively in the piano category of the 2025 Long-Thibaud International Competition, which concluded on the 30th (local time) in Paris, France, the Kumho Cultural Foundation announced.

Kim Sehyun, a Kumho Young Artist alumnus, won the championship by performing Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3 with the French Republican Guard Orchestra conducted by Bastien Stil at the final held at the Paris Opera Comique National Theater. There was no second-place winner; following third-place winner Lee Hyo, Masaharu Kambara (Japan) and Ma Tiankun (China) tied for fourth place, and Eric Guo (Canada) took fifth place.

Kim Sehyun will receive a prize of 35,000 euros (approximately 55.77 million KRW). In addition, all winners including Kim Sehyun and Lee Hyo will be invited to more than ten world-renowned music festivals such as the Monte Carlo Opera House, Versailles Royal Opera House, Gstaad New Year Festival, and Lyon Chopin Association.

Pianist Kim Sehyun, born in 2007, won first place in the piano category at the 2025 Long Thibaud International Competition, which concluded on the 30th (local time) in Paris, France.
[Photo by Kumho Cultural Foundation]

The Long-Thibaud International Competition was established in 1943 by world-renowned pianist Marguerite Long and violinist Jacques Thibaud. It is held every 1 to 3 years for young musicians aged 16 to 33, featuring competitions in piano, violin, and vocal categories.

Notable past winners include pianists Samson Fran?ois, Paul Badura-Skoda, Jean-Philippe Collard, Vladimir Feltsman, Evi Akiko, Elisabeth Leonskaja; violinists Michel Ohl?r, Christian Ferras, Vladimir Spivakov, Jean-Jacques Kantorow, and Ivry Gitlis.

Prominent Korean winners include pianist Lim Donghyuk (1st place in 2001), Kumho Young Artist alumnus Kim Junhee (2nd place in 2007), Kumho Rising Star alumnus Ahn Jongdo (2nd place without a 1st place in 2012), Kumho Young Artist alumnus Lee Hyuk (co-1st place in 2022); violinists Kumho Young Artist alumnus Shin Jiah (1st place in 2008), Kumho Young Artist alumnus Yoo Dayoon (2nd place in 2023); and bass singer Shim Gihwan (1st place in 2011) in the vocal category.

The 2025 Long-Thibaud International Competition advanced 32 pianists to the finals through preliminary video screening. From the first round and semifinals held from the 25th to the 28th, five pianists including Korean pianists Kim Sehyun and Lee Hyo reached the final round.

Kim Sehyun debuted in 2018 with the Kumho Young Artist Concert and gained attention in 2023 by winning first place, the Audience Award, and the Youth Jury Award at the Cleveland International Youth Piano Competition. He was the youngest second-place winner at the 2019 Young Tchaikovsky International Online Piano Competition and swept awards at the Morningside Music Bridge International Concerto Competition, New England Conservatory Preparatory School Concerto Competition, and Harvard Music Association Competition. He was a scholarship student of the Lang Lang International Music Foundation from 2022 to 2024. He studied under Shin Sujeong and Choi Youngmi at the Seoul Arts Center Music Gifted Academy and Yewon School before moving abroad while attending Yewon School. He studied at New England Conservatory Preparatory School and Walnut Hill School for the Arts, graduating last year with the highest honor, the Arnold Taylor Award. Kim Sehyun is currently enrolled in a five-year dual degree program at Harvard University and New England Conservatory, pursuing a bachelor's degree in English Literature at Harvard and a master's degree in piano at New England Conservatory under teachers Dang Thai Son and Baek Hyesun.

Lee Hyo, who placed third, won prizes at the 2017 Astana Piano Fashion International Competition and took first place in the piano category and the Grand Prix in the violin category at the 2018 "Musical Diamond" International Competition held in Moscow, attracting attention. He won third place at the 2021 Arthur Rubinstein Youth International Competition. Lee Hyo began piano at age five and moved to Russia in 2014, studying under Vladimir Obshchnikov and Vadim Rudenko at the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory Central Music School. He moved to France in 2022 and is currently studying the Artist Diploma program at the Paris ?cole Normale de Musique under Marian Ribicky. Lee Hyo is the younger brother of pianist Lee Hyuk (25), the 2022 Long-Thibaud International Competition winner; the siblings have occasionally performed together, including a duo performance at the Poland Music Garden Festival in July 2023.