[Rising Virtuosos] Multitalented pianist Kim Song

When pianist Kim Song-hyeon participated in the Isangyun Competition in early November, he saw the waters of Tongyeong and prayed to become tranquil just like the sea.

Before the final round, he re-read messages of encouragement from Paik Hae-sun, a prominent South Korean pianist and his teacher at the New England Conservatory. Paik, who had flown to Korea for her own performance, came straight to Tongyeong from Incheon Airport after a 20-hour flight to cheer on her student.

The 21-year-old performed Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat minor, Op. 23, the same piece for which Paik had taken home the third prize from the International Tchaikovsky Competition in 1994. Once Kim finished playing, a standing ovation erupted and he sobbed uncontrollably while exiting the stage.

“Participating in competitions is a high-pressure experience. The stage of evaluation adds to the intensity, as all my efforts over the past few months reach their end. When I saw the audience giving me a standing ovation, my emotions exploded,” Kim told The Korea Herald during an interview on Nov. 6.

Kim had left the Isangyun Competition empty-handed in 2019. This time, he demonstrated significant progress by exiting triumphantly with three awards, including the second prize and the Seong-ywang Park Special Prize, which was awarded by the Kumho Culture Foundation. The third prize is the UNESCO Creative City of Music Special Prize, which is decided by an audience vote, and is a type of award that he is familiar with. At the Sendai International Music Competition in 2022, he won both fifth prize and the Audience Prize.