South Korean violinist Lee Su-bin, a former Kumho Prodigy Concert performer, placed third at the 17th Henryk Wieniawski International Violin Competition, one of the world's most prestigious contests for the instrument.
The Kumho Asiana Cultural Foundation said on Oct. 23 that Lee finished third at the competition, which closed on the 22nd in Poznan, Poland, and will receive prize money of 15,000 euros (about 22 million won).
Founded in 1935 to honor Henryk Wieniawski, the Polish violinist and composer, the competition is one of the oldest international violin contests in the world. Past winners include Ginette Neveu and David Oistrakh. Korean laureates include Han Soo-jin, who shared second place in 2001, Yoon So-young, who won first prize in 2011, and Kim Bomsori, who shared second place in 2016.
This year's edition drew violinists aged 18 to 30 from around the world. Lee advanced to the final round after three preliminary stages and a semifinal. In the final, she performed Wieniawski's Violin Concerto No. 1 with the Poznan Philharmonic Orchestra under conductor Lukasz Borowicz. Bohdan Luts of Ukraine took first place, and Li Jinzhu of China placed second.
Born in 2000, Lee made her debut at the Kumho Prodigy Concert in 2010. She won first prize at the Oistrakh International Violin Competition in Moscow in 2013 and placed third at the Montreal International Musical Competition in 2023, building her reputation on the international stage. She has given recitals at Carnegie Hall in New York and the Kennedy Center in Washington, and has performed with orchestras including the Montreal Symphony. Since September last year, she has been a resident artist at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel in Belgium. She currently plays a 1794 Giuseppe Guadagnini violin on loan through the support of the Kumho Asiana Cultural Foundation.