Son Makes Van Cliburn Finals
By Lee Hyo-won
Staff Reporter
South Korea's young pianist Son Yeol-eum has advanced to the third and final round of the prestigious Van Cliburn International Piano Competition underway in Fort Worth, Texas, organizers said.
The 23-year-old will vie against five other young artists, including Nobuyuki Tsujii, a young blind man from Japan. Other finalists are Evgeni Bozhanov (23, Bulgaria), Mariangela Vacatello (27, Italy), Di Wu (24, China) and Haochen Zhang (19, China).
The Dallas Morning News gave a mixed review of her performance thus far, saying she ``alternated between relatively nondescript and fussy performances of solo repertory. But she came from behind in the chamber-music round with a flawlessly paced and expressed Brahms Piano Quintet'' with the Takacs Quartet.''
A graduate of Korea National University of Arts, Son is a popular soloist here who recently released a Chopin album for Universal Music. A third-prize winner of the 2005 Arthur Rubinstein event, she has appeared with the Israel, New York and Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestras, among many other top ensembles.
She will give a recital at 7:30 p.m., Thursday, and, opposite the James Conlon-led Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, perform Chopin's Piano Concerto No. 2 in E minor, Op. 21, at 8:45 p.m., Friday, and Prokofiev's Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op. 16, at 2:45 p.m., Saturday.
The awards ceremony will take place Sunday at 5 p.m. Prizewinners receive cash prizes and share hundreds of concert engagements worldwide, coordinated by the Van Cliburn Foundation, for three years following each event.
The competition will be streamed live online in its entirety at www.cliburn.tv. For recital ticket reservations and more information, visit www.cliburn.org.
Son will give a recital June 18 at LG Arts Center in southern Seoul, with the Takacs Quartet, who will appear with the finalists during the competition. Call (02) 2005-0114.