15-year-old Violinist Hyunseo Kim Becomes Youngest Ever to Win 3rd Prize at Paganini Competition
Creatrip Team
6 months ago
Fifteen-year-old violinist Hyunseo Kim (born 2010) won 3rd prize at the 58th Paganini International Violin Competition in Genoa, Italy, on Sept. 25, also receiving two special awards including the audience prize and youngest finalist award. She is the youngest-ever participant and prizewinner in the competition’s history. Her combined prize money is €15,000 and she earned performance opportunities with orchestras such as the Santa Cecilia National Academy Orchestra and the Sicilia Sinfonica. Kim previously took 2nd place and the audience prize at the Biotti International Music Competition in Italy and is the first Korean to win a prize in the violin category at Paganini. In March she entered the Korea National University of Arts (한국예술종합학교) as its youngest student. The Paganini Competition, founded in 1954, admits violinists aged 15–30; past winners include Gidon Kremer and Leonidas Kavakos. This year’s top winners were Zhang Aojie (China, 1st) and Yoshimoto Rino (Japan, 2nd).
