2010-born Violinist Lee Hyunjung Places Third at Long-Thibaud International Competition

Violinist Lee Hyunjung, born in 2010 and a graduate of the Kumho Young Artist program, placed third in the violin category at the Long-Thibaud International Competition in France.

Kumho Cultural Foundation announced on November 15 that Lee Hyunjung had placed third in the violin category at the 2026 Long-Thibaud International Competition, which concluded in Paris, France, on November 14 local time. In the final round at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris, Lee performed Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto with the French Republican Guard Orchestra, conducted by Bastien Stil.

The Long-Thibaud International Competition was founded in 1943 by pianist Marguerite Long and violinist Jacques Thibaud. It is a world-renowned international music competition, with contests in piano, violin and voice held every two to three years.

This year's violin competition was open to violinists born between 1993 and 2010, and 18 contestants selected through video auditions advanced to the main competition. Following the first round, which began on November 10, and the semifinals, four finalists, including Lee Hyunjung, were selected.

Violinist Lee Hyunjung. Kumho Cultural Foundation.

No first prize was awarded in this year's competition. Francesco Papa of Italy and Stefaniia Pospelikhina of Russia tied for second place, while Marika Konishi of Japan placed fourth.

Lee Hyunjung will receive prize money of 12,000 euros (approximately 17 million won). The winners will be invited to more than 10 major concert venues and music festivals around the world, including the Opéra de Monte-Carlo, Aix-en-Provence, the Gstaad New Year's Festival and the Royal Opera of Versailles.

"The experience of competing alongside world-class performers and standing on a beautiful stage in Paris will stay with me for a long time," Lee Hyunjung said. "The competition reaffirmed my love for the violin and music, and I will continue striving to be a violinist who performs with sincerity."

Notable Korean winners in the Long-Thibaud International Competition include pianists Lim Donghyuk (first place in 2001), Kim Junhee (second place in 2007), Ahn Jongdo (second place, with no first prize awarded, in 2012), Lee Hyuk (joint first place in 2022) and Kim Sehyun (first place in 2025). In the violin category, Shin Jia won first place in 2008 and Yoo Dayoon placed second in 2023. In the voice category, bass singer Shim Kihwan won first place in 2011.

This year, Lee Hyunjung became the youngest winner in the history of the Munetsugu Angel Violin Competition and also received the Central Aichi Symphony Orchestra Award. As an additional prize, she was lent the 1697 Stradivarius violin "Rainville." In 2024, she also became the youngest-ever runner-up in the violin category at the George Enescu International Competition and won two special prizes. She has also won the Leonid Kogan International Violin Competition and the Manhattan International Music Competition, and took the grand prize at the Rising Stars Grand Prix International Music Competition.

Invited by the New Jersey Sinfonietta, she made her international debut at the Laeiszhalle Recital Hall in Hamburg, Germany. Last year, she was invited to the George Enescu Festival, where she performed Bach's Double Concerto with violinist Renaud Capuçon at the Romanian Athenaeum and appeared with the Lausanne Chamber Orchestra. This year, she gave solo recitals at the Romanian Athenaeum and Thalia Hall in Sibiu. She has also performed with major Korean orchestras, including the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra and the KBS Symphony Orchestra.

She graduated at the top of her class from Yewon School and currently studies with Lee Seoni. She performs on the 1753 Guarneri violin "Ex-Hamma," on loan from the Samsung Foundation of Culture.

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