Korean pianist wins Poland's Paderewski Competition
PR dla Zagranicy
Roberto Galea
20.11.2016 18:14
South Korean pianist Hyuk Lee has won the Ignacy Jan Paderewski International Piano Competition in Bydgoszcz, northern Poland.
Photo: Flickr.com/Niklas Morberg
Aged 16, Lee was the youngest of 47 entrants from 17 countries.
In the competition's final round he performed Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 2, accompanied by the Pomeranian Symphony Orchestra under Tadeusz Strugała.
Lee is a student of the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow.
Polish pianist Jakub Kuszlik came second and Svetlana Andreyeva from Russia placed third.
The Ignacy Jan Paderewski Piano Competition was launched in 1961. Its first winner was Jerzy Maksymiuk, who in later years went on to enjoy a spectacular career as a conductor. In 1998 the event became international in scope and has since been held every three years.
It is one of the major events dedicated to Ignacy Jan Paderewski (1860-1941), the legendary pianist and composer who was also a prominent statesman. (mk/vb)