Pianist Suh Hyung-min wins Telekom Beethoven Competition Bonn

Suh Hyung-min, center, receives the top prize in Germany's International Telekom Beethoven Competition Bonn, Germany, Saturday (CET). Courtesy of the International Telekom Beethoven Competition Bonn

By Park Ji-won

Pianist Suh Hyung-min, also known as Hans H. Suh in English, won the top prize in Germany's International Telekom Beethoven Competition Bonn on Saturday (CET). Together with the top prize, he also won three special prizes.

Suh played Klavierstucke Op. 7, which he composed in 2017 and Beethoven's Piano Trio in C minor, Op. 1, No. 3, in the chamber final, as well as Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 3 in C minor, Op. 37, in the orchestra final with the Beethoven Orchestra Bonn, conducted by Hans Graf.

The International Telekom Beethoven Competition Bonn, which was founded in 2005 and honors young pianists between the ages of 18 and 33, said that the nine-member jury chaired by Pavel Gililov was convinced by Suh's interpretation of Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 3 in C minor.

Suh also won the "Audience's Favourite" Prize for the best interpretation of a piano concerto in the final, which was determined by phone voting, as well as the special prizes for chamber music and for the best interpretation of a work by Robert Schumann, according to the music institute.

Pianist Suh Hyung-min / Courtesy of the Kumho Cultural Foundation

"Thankfully, I've won the first prize at the International Telekom Beethoven Competition Bonn with a unanimous decision by the jury … Thank you for all who have been always believing and supporting me," Suh wrote on his Instagram account on Sunday.

The second and third prizes went to Russian-American Alexei Tartakovsky and Italian Giorgio Lazzari, respectively.

The first place winner will receive prize money of 30,000 euros, the second place winner 20,000 euros and the third place winner 10,000 euros. They will get opportunities to perform in solo recitals and as soloists with orchestras worldwide. More than 30 concert engagements in seven countries over the next two seasons have already been fixed for the winners.

Born in 1990, Suh started playing the piano when he was just four and entered the Korea National University of Arts at the age of eight. He made his international debut in the United States when he was 11 by performing with the New York Philharmonic, after winning the New York Philharmonic Young Artists Audition in 2001.

Suh came in at third place in the 2nd Florida International Piano Competition in 2011. Two years later, he won the silver medal at the 5th Sendai International Music Competition. He became a laureate of the 2016 Queen Elisabeth International Music Competition and the first prize winner of the 2016 Isang Yun International Music Competition. However, Suh had to undergo surgery after the fingernails on his left hand suffered from inflammation. His performance reportedly failed to meet his expectations after this health problem, prompting him to consider quitting being a pianist.

Suh will hold a solo recital at the Seoul Arts Center on Feb. 15, next year.

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