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| Korean violinist Yang In-mo / Courtesy of Credia |
Korean violinist Yang In-mo has won the 12th International Jean Sibelius Violin Competition, one of the most prestigious competitions for the instrument in the world.
At an awards ceremony held in Helsinki, Finland, Sunday (local time), Yang was announced as the first prize winner of the competition named after the Finnish composer out of six finalists.
Second place was awarded to Nathan Meltzer of the United States and third place to Dmytro Udovychenko of Ukraine.
Yang received a cash prize of 30,000 euros ($32,000) and was also rewarded with a loan of a violin by Giovanni Battista Guadagnini made in 1772.
The 27-year-old became the first Korean violinist to win the quinquennial contest founded in 1965 for young violinists under age of 30. Before him, Shin Hyun-su finished third in the 2005 edition.
This year's Sibelius competition was originally set to take place in Helsinki in 2020 but was postponed for two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
At the final rounds, six finalists performed the Sibelius Concerto and a concerto of their own choice with the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra and the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra.
Yang, who is studying at the Hanns Eisler School of Music Berlin, has become one of the most prominent young violists in the world since winning the Paganini Competition in 2015.
"I'm happy to have good results, as I've done my best," Yang said through his management agency, Credia. "All participants learned from each other, and I felt the charm of a competition there." (Yonhap)
