Pianist Sehyeok Son won the Viktor Kalabis and Zuzana Růžičková Prize at the Prague Spring International Music Competition

The winners of this year’s 77th Prague Spring International Music Competition in the piano category have been announced. The overall winner was 18-year-old South Korean pianist Sehyeok Son, who performed Johannes Brahms’s demanding Piano Concerto No. 1 in D minor, Op. 15, in the final round at the Dvořák Hall of Prague’s Rudolfinum, accompanied by the Prague Symphony Orchestra (FOK) under the baton of Petr Altrichter.

In addition to winning the prestigious First Prize, this young artist also received the Viktor Kalabis and Zuzana Růžičková Award. This award is presented by the Viktor Kalabis and Zuzana Růžičková Endowment Fund in cooperation with its sister foundation, The Viktor Kalabis and Zuzana Růžičková Foundation in Washington, D.C. The prize also includes future support for the laureate’s concert performances, which will feature a major compositional work by Viktor Kalabis. The Korea Times also reported on this significant international achievement.

About the laureate:
Sehyeok Son was born in 2008 in South Korea. He began his musical career at the age of seven. He studied at Yewon Arts University in Seoul and at the prestigious Yehudi Menuhin School in the United Kingdom. He is currently continuing his studies at the renowned Colburn School in Los Angeles under the guidance of Fabio Bidini and HyeJin Kim. His previous achievements include, among others, the Grand Prix at the Henle Piano Competition in Seoul (2022) and the award for best romantic performance at the International Tchaikovsky Competition for Young Musicians in Moscow (2022).

As a result of his victory, Sehyeok Son will perform as part of the concert program of the 82nd Prague Spring International Music Festival in 2022.

Our Foundation extends its heartfelt congratulations to him on this extraordinary achievement. The award was presented to Sehyeok by Aleš Březina, Chairman of the Foundation’s Administrative Board.

You can read more about the results of the entire competition here.
You can listen to Sehyeok Son’s entire final performance on the Prague Spring YouTube channel here (00:06:16).