Korean musicians receive awards at Tchaikovsky Competition

Four classical musicians from South Korea have received awards in the voice, violin, cello and brass instruments sections of the International Tchaikovsky Competition held this week in Russia, according to organizers Friday. 

Kim Ki-hoon, a 27-year-old baritone, won second prize in the voice competition held at the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg.

Kim Dong-hyun, 19, finished third in the violin section of the competition’s 16th edition, following the final round held at Tchaikovsky Concert Hall in Moscow from Tuesday to Thursday. 

“It has been a great challenge for me, and a great honor to be awarded here,” violinist Kim said in a statement released through his local agent.

Mun Tae-guk, 25, placed fourth in the cello section.

Yoo Hae-ree, 23-year-old French horn player, came in seventh in the brass instrument section. 

Kim Ki-hoon, a Yonsei University College of Music graduate, is now pursuing a master’s degree at the Hanover University of Music, Drama and Media in Germany. He won the 2015 Seoul International Music Competition and several international competitions.

Violinist Kim, born in 1999, graduated from Yewon School in Seoul and entered the Korea National University of Arts in 2016 as a gifted student. He won the first prize at the International Tchaikovsky Competition for Young Musicians in 2015.

Mun, who is currently studying under Ralph Kirshbaum at the University of Southern California, won the Pablo Casals International Cello Competition in 2014.

French horn player Yoon is pursuing a master’s degree at the University of Arts Berlin with Christian-Friedrich Dallmann.

The medal winners of the competition will hold gala concerts in Moscow on Saturday and in St. Petersburg on Sunday.

On Oct. 27, the winners will also hold a concert at the Carnegie Hall in New York with the competition’s current director and conductor Valery Gergiev.

A gala concert of the Korean medal winners of the Tchaikovsky competition is scheduled to take place at the Seoul Arts Center on Oct. 15.

By Shim Woo-hyun (ws@heraldcorp.com)