Cellist wins prestigious Janos Starker Award
Cellist Mun Tae-guk performs during a press conference held at the Kumho Art Hall in Seoul, Monday. / Courtesy of Kumho Art Hall
By Yun Suh-young
Cellist Mun Tae-guk won the Janos Starker Foundation Award, a prestigious award given to cellists under 30 who have begun a significant career in music, his agency Credia announced Monday.
The Janos Starker Foundation was established to support the future of cello playing and assist exceptional young musicians in advancing their careers. It provides financial assistance to young cellists who are selected as recipients of the Janos Starker Foundation Award, which was created in memory of Hungarian-American cellist Janos Starker. Mun will receive $25,000 in prize money.
The late cellist Janos Starker, who debuted at age 11, was known to be a child prodigy who was teaching other children by age eight. He has been the principal cellist of the Budapest Opera, Budapest Philharmonic and Chicago Symphony orchestras. He taught at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music until his death in 2013. He won a Grammy in 1992 with his Bach solo cello suites.
Award winner Mun began playing the cello at age four and attended the Juilliard School Pre-College Division as a full scholarship student of Minhye Clara Kim. He debuted at the Kumho Prodigy Concert in 2004 and is now attending the New England Conservatory as a full scholarship student of Laurence Lesser.
Mun has received first prizes at the 2014 Pablo Casals International Cello Competition and the Third Andre Navarra International Cello Competition.
Mun was also selected as Artist-in-Residence of Kumho Art Hall for 2017 on Monday and will offer five concerts at the concert hall next year. The hall selected Mun for his distinct artistic characteristics despite his young age and as part of an effort to promote cellists among a plethora of pianists and violinists.
During a press conference introducing the Kumho Art Hall artist-in-residence, Monday, Mun said he hoped to show the audience the beauty of the cello.
"The cello, as an instrument, and cello repertoires both have diversity and attractiveness. I hope the audience will find refuge in cello music despite their busy lives," he said.
"The cello has a sound that is closest to the tone of a human voice, they say. I love the solemn and warm sound of the cello."
Mun, sponsored by the Samsung Cultural Foundation of Korea, plays a cello made by Giovanni Grancino in 1697 in Milan.