Korean Artists Sweep International Concours
By Lee Hyo-won
Staff Reporter
Three young Korean musicians won the top three prizes at the Sergey Koussevitzky Double-Bass Competition in St. Petersburg, Russia.
Sung Min-jae, 17, came first, followed by Jeong Ha-yeong, 17, second, and Lee Eun-gi, 23, third. This is the first time a Korean national has won the international competition, which took place from Dec. 1-7.
Named after the Russian double-bassist and conductor Sergey Koussevitzky (1874-1951), the event is a prestigious competition along with the Johann Matthias Sperger Double Bass Competition in Germany.
Sung Min-jae received a $5,000 dollar as well as offers to perform recitals and solo accompaniments from jury members. He had already made headlines as the world's youngest and Asia's first winner of the 2006 Johannes Matthias Sperger competition.
Currently a student at Korea National University of Arts, he leads an active career with recitals and performances with major orchestras in Korea and Germany. Having debuted as a Kumho Prodigy and Kumho Young Artist ― programs sponsored by the major arts organization the Kumho Cultural Foundation ― he is currently part of the Kumho Asiana Soloists, who will perform in Seoul Dec. 27.
The two other winners of the competition, Jeong and Lee are also rising young musicians who were named Kumho Prodigy and Kumho Young Artist, respectively.