The 7th Seoul International Music Competition for the category of Piano

“The Seoul International Music Competition, presented by LG,

Is holding its 7^th competition for the category of Piano”

The 7^th Seoul International Music Competition will be held in Seoul, Korea from April 12^th to April 24^th, 2011 at Recital Hall and Concert Hall of Seoul Arts Center.

Seoul International Music Competition was established by the Dong-A Ilbo, the most prestigious daily newspaper in Korea, for the sake of promoting cultural exchanges among nations through music, and supporting talented young musicians from all over the world. The Competition is held annually for one category out of piano, violin and voice each year. The first competition in 1996 for the category of piano and the second competition in 1997 for the category of violin were held in Seoul, with the title of "Dong-A International Music Competition." After ten years of absence, the 3^rd competition was resumed in Seoul in 2007 for the vocal category with the new title of "Seoul International Music Competition." And, the 4^th competition in 2008 for category of piano, the 5^th competition in 2009 for category of violin and the 6^th competition in 2010 for category of voice were held successfully.

As the first prestigious international competition ever taken place in Korea, the Seoul International Competition has produced and promoted world-renowned artists such as Aviram Reichert(Israel, Piano Professor at Seoul National University), Ju-Young Baek(Korea, Violin Professor at Seoul National University), Liviu Prunaru(Romania, Concertmaster of Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra), Byung Woo Kong(Korea, Baritone), Mariya Kim(Ukraine, Pianist), Clara-Jumi Kang(Germany/Korea, Violinist) and Stefan Marian Pop(Romania, Tenor) who all play critical roles in international music field.

To the prize winners, the competition offers the world-class awards such as prize money of US $50,000 for the 1^st prize winner, performance engagements with major orchestras throughout the world, recital engagements, and etc.

For this competition, world famous pianists, Pavel GILILOV(Germany), Jerome LOWENTHAL(U.S.A.), Jacques ROUVIER(France), Joaquin SORIANO(Spain), Arie VARDI(Israel), Fanny WATERMAN(U.K.), NAKAMURA Hiroko(Japan), Dong Il HAN(Korea), Daejin KIM(Korea), and Ick Choo MOON(Korea) are invited to the competition as Jury Members.

Among 140 applicants from 25 countries, a total of 60 applicants(16 Korean and 44 overseas candidates) passed the preliminary round. A significant proportion of the competitors are from Korea, U.S.A., Russia, China, Japan; also a large number of competitors are previous winners of other international competitions such as Dublin International Piano Competition, International Tchaikovsky Competition, Cleveland International Piano Competition, ARD International Music Competition and Hamamatsu International Piano Competition.

▶Category: Piano (Violin in 2012, Voice in 2013)

▶ Schedule

 1st Round                April 12(Tue) ~ 14(Thur)

2nd Round               April 16(Sat) ~ 18(Mon)

Semifinal Round      April 20(Wed) ~ 21(Thur)

Final Round             April 23(Sat) ~ 24(Sun)

Award Ceremony    April 24(Sun)

▶ Venue

First, Second and Semifinal Rounds: Recital Hall, Seoul Arts Center, Seoul, Korea

Final Stage and Award Ceremony: Concert Hall, Seoul Arts Center, Seoul, Korea