Bienen School Student Places Second at International Piano Competition
January 22, 2015
Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music student EunAe Lee was awarded second prize in the 19-32 year-old category at the prestigious 7th Biennial Bösendorfer Yamaha USASU International Piano Competition, held January 4-11 at Arizona State University (ASU). The competition awards prizes in three age groups, 13-15, 16-18, and 19-32 years.
Lee, a second-year doctoral student of James Giles, associate professor of piano at the Bienen School, received a $10,000 cash prize. She received an additional $250 for winning the competition’s Yehuda Meir Memorial Award, which recognizes the most outstanding artistic performance of a Chopin etude.
First place winner, Sung Chang, a student at the University of Music, Drama and Media Hannover (Germany), took home $15,000. There was a third finalist in the competition, but a third place prize was not awarded.
After finding out the results, Lee said she couldn’t wait to tell her professor and friends at Northwestern how she did. “We are like family, and I knew that they were watching the live streaming of the competition rounds, so I was very excited to tell them the good news and to thank them,” she said.
Approximately 205 pianists from 42 countries applied to the competition, a record number according to Baruch Meir, founder, president and artistic director of the competition. Contestants came from top music schools, including the Juilliard School, the Moscow Conservatory, and the Royal College of Music.
The competition jury included Ricardo Castro, Bahia Symphony Orchestra (Brazil); Robert Hamilton and Baruch Meir (ASU); Vadim Monastyrski, Rubin Academy of Music (Israel); Aleksandar Serdar, Belgrade Music Academy (Serbia); and Zhe Tang, Shanghai Conservatory of Music (China).
“The level of competition was quite high and [Lee] distinguished herself among many excellent pianists from all over the world,” said Zhe Tang. “Of particular note, she was the only finalist studying at a U.S. school or conservatory.”
Among her many accomplishments, Lee has performed at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, placed third in the 2014 Hilton Head International Piano Competition, and was one of four finalists at the 2011 ARD Music Competition (Germany). She received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the Juilliard School.
Associate Professor Giles, who first met Lee while teaching master classes at the Bowdoin International Music Festival, stated, “I am very proud of EunAe’s excellent standing in this prestigious competition. Her success is a credit to her talent and hard work. I am also pleased that such a forum allows others to be reminded of the world-class quality of our doctoral pianists.”