Germany-based composer Unsuk Chin wins top honors at Daewon Music Awards

Unsuk Chin / Courtesy of Tongyeong International Music Foundation

Unsuk Chin has been selected as the Grand Prize winner of the 14th Daewon Music Awards, the Daewon Culture Foundation announced Wednesday.

Pianist Sunwoo Yekwon received the Performance Award, while violinist Kim Seo-hyun was named recipient of the Emerging Artist Award, which honors promising young musicians.

Chin is regarded as the most internationally acclaimed Korean composer since Isang Yun (1917-1925). Over the years, she has elevated the global standing of Korean classical music through a string of prestigious honors, including the Grawemeyer Award (2004), the Arnold Schoenberg Prize (2005), the Prince Pierre of Monaco Composition Prize (2010), the Wihuri Sibelius Prize (2017), the Hamburg Bach Prize (2019), the Marie-Josée Kravis Prize (2020), the Léonie Sonning Music Prize (2021) and the Ernst von Siemens Music Prize (2024).

Last year, Chin won the Contemporary Music Recording Award at the International Classical Music Awards (ICMA) for the Berliner Philharmoniker’s “Unsuk Chin Edition.” In March this year, she also became the first Korean recipient of the BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in the Music and Opera category. Since 2022, she has served as artistic director of the Tongyeong International Music Festival and Taiwan’s Weiwuying International Music Festival.

Korean pianist Sunwoo Yekwon plays at a press conference for his new album "Liszt" in Seoul, May 7. / Yonhap

Pianist Sunwoo Yekwon is best known for winning the prestigious Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 2017, one of eight international competition victories throughout his career. His album "Cliburn Gold 2017" reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Classical Albums chart, earning praise from both critics and audiences. This year, he plans to release his third album, "Liszt," and embark on a nationwide tour.

Violinist Kim Seo-hyun made headlines in 2023 when, at just 14 years old, she became the youngest-ever winner of the Tibor Varga International Violin Competition in Switzerland. Last year, she signed an exclusive contract with the renowned global management agency HarrisonParrott as she prepares to expand onto the international stage.

Established in 2006, the Daewon Music Awards were created to encourage musicians and promote their artistic achievements. The Grand Prize winner receives a trophy and approximately $72,000 in prize money, while the Performance Award and Emerging Artist Award recipients each receive about $21,500 along with a trophy.

Violinist Kim Seo-hyun / Photo by Shinjoong Kim

The awards ceremony will take place on June 8 at the Westin Josun Seoul in central Seoul.

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.