Jeonghwan Kim wins Sydney International Piano Competition

Sydney International Piano Competition has announced Jeonghwan Kim as its 2023 winner. As well as a cash prize of $50,000, Kim receives performance opportunities including a national tour of Australia, recitals in Dubai, Portugal, New York and at London’s Wigmore Hall and a release with Decca of live recordings from the competition.

The announcement was made the competition’s final round held at the Concert Hall of the Sydney Opera House on 22 July. The competition second prize ($25,000) was awarded to Uladzislau Khandohi, and Yungyung Guo received the third prize ($20,000). Competitors performed alongside the Sydney Symphony Orchestra for a jury led by Lane which also included pianists Olivier Cazal, Mark Coughlan, Dang Thai Son, Olga Kern, Vladimir Tropp, Seta Tanyel and Mira Yevtich.

Artistic director Piers Lane said: ‘[In] Jeonghwan Kim, we have a very complete pianist and artist – quite extraordinary for a young man who turned 23 during the Competition. His virtuosity is astounding, his accuracy in the most complex passages breathtaking. But his The Poet Speaks from Schumann’s Scenes of Childhood brought tears to my eyes. He’s got it all. He will be the perfect ambassador for The Sydney’.

Kim will also have the opportunity to record with Hyperion Records and will be invited to take up the role of artistic director of one edition of Out West Piano Fest. He will also receive a career development package from Young Classical Artists Trust in London and Concert Artists Guild in New York designed to help him decide on his next steps and build on his career opportunities, as well as developing his online presence.

Reuben Tsang won the award for The Best Australian Pianist ($15,000) and received a Medal for the Most Promising Competitor ($1,000), while Wynona Yinuo Wang received The People's Choice Prize ($10,000). The prizes totalling $205,000 were awarded to competitors across all stages of the competition.

A graduate of the Seoul Arts Center Academy, Kim moved to Berlin to study at the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler. He adds his latest prize to a list of accolades including first prize at the Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy Conservatory Competition, and at the Aarhus International Piano Competition as well as fourth prize and audience prize at the Sendai International Music Competition.