Belgian Ysaÿe Music Competition Finals to be held in South Korea for first time

The final round of the Ysaÿe International Music Competition, a prestigious event honoring the Belgian violinist and composer Eugène Ysaÿe, is set to take place in South Korea. This marks the first time the competition's finals will be held outside of Belgium since its inception in 2018. The event is scheduled for October 10-11 at the Icheon Art Hall in Gyeonggi Province.

Violinist Elena Revnov, the competition's founder and general director, stated at a press conference in Seoul that the competition aims to create a platform for global artistic talents to build their careers. She highlighted the significance of hosting the finals in Korea, anticipating it will broaden cultural exchange between the two nations. Revnov explained that Korea was chosen as the venue due to the strong partnership available and the substantial number of Asian applicants each year.

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We are creating a place where artistic talents from all over the world gather and help them build their careers.

Joel Smirnoff, the jury chairman and a professor at The Juilliard School, echoed the sentiment, noting his positive experiences with talented Korean students. He suggested that classical music, while originating in the West, is now seeing exceptional performers emerge from the East, implying a reciprocal learning dynamic. "Classical music started in the West, but now we must learn from the East, which has produced outstanding performers," Smirnoff remarked.

This year's competition attracted 121 applicants from 23 countries. After online video auditions, 20 musicians, eight juniors (under 14) and twelve seniors (under 34), advanced to the finals. These finalists include violinists from Korea, China, Japan, the United States, Belgium, Greece, Russia, and Taiwan. The finals will feature performances of Ysaÿe's solo sonatas and concertos by Beethoven, Brahms, Sibelius, and Dvořák, accompanied by the Prime Philharmonic Orchestra. The event will be livestreamed on YouTube. It's important to note that this competition is distinct from the Ysaÿe Competition founded in 1937, which was a predecessor to the Queen Elisabeth Competition.

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Classical music started in the West, but now we must learn from the East, which has produced outstanding performers.