Pianist Lee Hyuk Wins France Animato Competition

[Asia Economy Reporter Donghyun Choi] Pianist Lee Hyuk (21, photo), who reached the finals of the Chopin Competition, one of the world's top three piano competitions this year, has won first place at the Animato Competition in France.

Classical management company Etoile Classic announced on the 10th that pianist Lee Hyuk won first place at the 17th Animato Competition (concours international Grand Prix Animato), held in Paris, France, from the 3rd to the 7th (local time). Lee Hyuk also received the Mazurka Special Prize along with the championship. As a prize, Lee Hyuk is invited to perform in major French concert halls organized by the Animato Association and will receive a prize money of 30,000 euros (approximately 40 million KRW) and a Mazurka special prize of 2,000 euros.

In this competition, where only Chopin's pieces were designated as required pieces, Lee Hyuk performed Prelude Op. 28 No. 7, the "Our Hands Together" variation from Don Giovanni, and Sonata No. 3 in the semifinals with 11 contestants. In the finals with 6 contestants, he performed Fantaisie Op. 49 and won first place.

Lee Hyuk, who was the only Korean to reach the finals of this year's Chopin Competition, demonstrated his skills to the fullest at the Animato Competition based on his unique interpretation of Chopin's works. The judging panel consisted of 20 members, including Olga Kern, a Russian-American pianist and chair of the jury, and Michel Beroff, a professor at the Paris Conservatory.

The Animato Competition, with the slogan "Today of the Future Great Pianists," is organized by the French artistic corporation Animato Association. It gathers prize winners from major piano competitions aged from late teens to mid-twenties, recommended by renowned pianists and educators, to compete in a recital format. Rather than aiming for a strict competitive stage, it serves as a gateway to introduce promising newcomers recommended by respected pianists and educators to the French music scene.

Past participants who later ranked at the top of major world competitions include Bruce Liu, winner of this year's Chopin Competition; Denis Matsuev, winner of the 1998 Tchaikovsky Competition; Olga Kern, winner of the 2001 Van Cliburn Competition; Alexander Kobrin, winner of the 2005 Van Cliburn Competition; Zephyrin von Eckartshausen, winner of the 2003 Queen Elizabeth Competition; Sofia Gulyak, winner of the 2009 Leeds Competition; and George Li, runner-up of the 2015 Tchaikovsky Competition. Among Koreans, Kim Taehyung and Jung Hanbin have also won prizes.

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