Sunwoo wins fifteenth Van Cliburn competition in Fort Worth
June 10,2017
Reposted from Fort Worth Business Press
By FWBP Staff
Yekwon Sunwoo, 28, South Korea was named the winner of the Nancy Lee and Perry R. Bass Gold Medal and the Van Cliburn Winner’s Cup on Saturday night in Fort Worth at the end of the Fifteenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition.
The silver medalist is Kenneth Broberg, 23, United States.
The bronze medalist is Daniel Hsu, 19, United States.
Sunwoo is the first South Korean to win.
The competition began May 25 with pianists from 12 countries and Hong Kong. In the finals round, each of six finalists performed with a string quartet and then with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra.
Sunwoo, the gold medalist, will receive a cash award of $50,000; three years of individualized career management, including U.S. concert tours and, in association with Keynote Artist Management, international concert tours and comprehensive career mentorship program; live recording and recording partnership with Universal Music Group's Decca Gold label; promotional package including press kits, videos, website; and performance attire provided by Neiman Marcus.
Kenneth Broberg, the silver medalist, will receive a cash award of $25,000; three years of individualized career management, including U.S. concert tours; live recordings released by Universal Music Group’s Decca Gold label; and a promotional package including press kits, videos, and website.
Daniel Hsu, the bronze medalist,will receive a cash award of $15,000; three years of individualized career management, including U.S. concert tours; live recordings released by Universal Music Group’s Decca Gold label; and a promotional package including press kits, videos, and website.
The remaining three finalists will receive cash awards of $10,000 each, and promotional packages including press kits, videos, and website. They are Rachel Cheung, 25, Hong Kong; Yuri Favorin, 30, Russia; and Georgy Tchaidze, 29, Russia.
Other awards:
The Steven de Groote Memorial Award for the Best Performance of Chamber Music, with a cash prize of $6,000, was awarded to Daniel Hsu, 19, United States.
The Beverley Taylor Smith Award for the Best Performance of a New Work, with a cash prize of $5,000, was awarded to Daniel Hsu, 19, United States.
The winner of the John Giordano Jury Chairman Discretionary Award, with a cash prize of $4,000, is Dasol Kim, 28, South Korea.
The winner of the Raymond E. Buck Jury Discretionary Award, with a cash prize of $4,000, is Leonardo Pierdomenico, 24, Italy.
The winner of the Jury Discretionary Award, with a cash prize of $4,000, is Tony Yike Yang, 18, Canada.
The Audience Award was voted on by more than 20,000 visitors to www.cliburn.org and cliburn2017.medici.tv. The Audience Award winner, Rachel Cheung, will receive a cash award of $2,500.
The semifinalists will receive cash awards of $5,000 each.
The quarterfinalists will receive cash awards of $2,500 each.
Preliminary Round competitors will receive cash awards of $1,000 each.
The contest was founded in the famed pianist's honor in 1962. He died in 2013.