[News Figure] Premio Haen Concours 1st Place, Pianist Park Jin-hyung

Spain's Oldest Historical Concours
Started Learning Piano at Local Academy at Age 7
Currently Enrolled in Master's Program at Hannover State University of Music

Pianist Park Jin-hyung (27) won first place and the chamber music special prize at the 64th Premio Ja?n International Piano Competition, which concluded on the 22nd (local time) in Ja?n, Spain, the Kumho Cultural Foundation announced on the 23rd.

Park Jin-hyung performed Prokofiev's Piano Concerto No. 3 in C major, Op. 26, in collaboration with the M?laga Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Carlos Checa on the final stage held at the Infanta Leonor Theatre. The first prize award is 20,000 euros (approximately 29.17 million KRW), and the special prize award is 8,000 euros (approximately 11.66 million KRW). Along with the prize money, Park Jin-hyung also earned the opportunity to tour and perform in Ja?n, ?beda, M?laga in Spain, and Bochum in Germany. The second place went to Ryusei Horiuchi (20) from Japan, and the third place to Iv?n Basi? (27) from Hungary.

This competition boasts the longest history in Spain. It began in 1953 under the name "Premio Club Alpino" and was renamed the "Premio Ja?n International Piano Competition" in 1955, expanding into an international piano competition. It is held annually for young pianists aged 32 and under.

Park Jin-hyung said, "Thanks to the many moments of success and failure I experienced during my long years of studying abroad, I was able to present music that focused more on the moment of performance than on the competition results this time," adding, "I am grateful that I could naturally perform the pieces I prepared with a relaxed mind."

Pianist Park Jin-hyung. Photo by Kumho Cultural Foundation

Born in Seoul in 1996, Park Jin-hyung was selected as a Kumho prodigy in 2009. It is known that he began learning piano at the age of seven. In an April 2019 interview with "Magazine Hankyung," Park Jin-hyung said, "When I was young, there was a small piano at home. Since I had no siblings, I played with it like a toy by myself and became familiar with the piano. From the age of seven, I begged my mother to attend a local piano academy, and I remember deciding to become a pianist in earnest in the sixth grade of elementary school."

After entering Yonsei University, Park Jin-hyung studied under Professor Yoo Young-wook. Known as the "Beethoven of Korea," Professor Yoo showed remarkable talent in composition, holding his own recital at the age of 10. While attending Yewon School, he went to the United States to enter the Juilliard Pre-College and gained worldwide attention by unanimously winning the grand prize at the Santander International Piano Competition in Spain.

Pianist Park Jin-hyung. Photo by Kumho Cultural Foundation

Park Jin-hyung's domestic and international competition achievements include first place at the 2016 Prague Spring International Music Festival, second place at the 2016 Panama International Piano Competition, and the Chopin Prize at the 2016 Cleveland International Piano Competition. He has cited the "Prague Spring" competition as the most memorable, stating in an interview with "Magazine Hankyung," "The 2016 Prague Spring Competition, where I was the first Korean to win, is the most memorable. On the final stage, I let go of the desire to win and performed, and I think it was the best stage I have had so far. I believe I achieved good results because I emptied my mind and comfortably presented my performance."

Park Jin-hyung made his international debut in 2017 with a collaboration with the Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra. In addition to concert performances, he has participated in numerous masterclasses. He has received instruction from pianists such as Alexander Kobrin, Jan Jiracek, Peter Donohoe, Shin Soo-jung, Kang Choong-mo, Vladimir Ovchinnikov, Jeno Jando, Pavel Nersessian, John Kimura Parker, and Vladimir Sverdlov Ashkenazy. After graduating from Yonsei University College of Music, Park Jin-hyung is currently pursuing a master's degree at the Hanover University of Music, Drama and Media under Arie Vardi.

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