Cellist Han Jaemin Wins 3rd Place at Geneva Competition

Cellist Han Jaemin.

[Asia Economy Reporter Donghyun Choi] Cellist Han Jaemin took 3rd place at the 75th Geneva International Music Competition. This is the first time in 50 years since Jeong Myeonghwa in 1971 that a Korean has won a prize in the cello category of this competition.

On the 28th (local time), the Kumho Cultural Foundation announced that Han Jaemin (15), a Kumho Young Artist, won 3rd place and the Rose-Marie Huguenin Special Prize in the cello category at the Geneva Competition, which concluded in Geneva, Switzerland. The 1st place went to Michiaki Ueno from Japan, and 2nd place was awarded to Bryan Cheng from Canada.

Han Jaemin performed Elgar's Cello Concerto in E minor, Op.85 with the Swiss Romande Orchestra on the final stage and won 3rd place. This is the second time in 50 years that a Korean has placed in the cello category. The only other Korean winner in the cello category was Jeong Myeonghwa, who won first place in 1971.

Han Jaemin was the youngest finalist in this competition, and considering that the average age of the cello finalists was 24 years old, his achievement is remarkable. He received a prize money of 8,000 Swiss francs (approximately 10.18 million KRW) awarded to the 3rd place winner. As part of the competition prize, he will have the opportunity to sign a two-year management contract with Geneva Promusica, including overseas concert tours for two years.

Founded in 1939, the Geneva International Music Competition was established to discover talented young musicians under the age of 29 and support their international advancement. The piano, flute, clarinet, cello, viola, string quartet, vocal, and percussion categories alternate annually. The composition category is held every two years.

This year’s competition was held for the cello and oboe categories. The preliminary round was conducted through video screening, the first round of the finals was judged via online video screening, and the subsequent semi-finals and finals were held at the Franz Liszt Hall and Victoria Hall in Geneva. The cello category finals featured 36 performers from 18 countries, and through three rounds of finals, three finalists were selected. The final round took place at Geneva’s Victoria Hall with a collaboration performance with the Swiss Romande Orchestra.

Han Jaemin performed at the 2018 Kumho Young Artist Concert, won 1st place at the 2017 David Popper International Cello Competition, 1st place at the 2019 Dottzauer International Cello Competition, and became the youngest ever to win 1st place at the 2020 George Enescu International Competition held in May this year. He has collaborated with the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, Busan Philharmonic Orchestra, Seongnam Philharmonic Orchestra, and performed at the Pyeongchang Daegwallyeong Music Festival, The House Concert, and the 2021 Kumho Young Artist Opening Concert.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.