Miffed Korean pianist refuses prize
Korea Herald
June 11, 2003
By Warren Lee
A young Korean pianist competing at a prestigious international
music competition cried foul yesterday and gave up his third-place
award in protest.
Lim Dong-hyek, 18, rejected the jury decision at the Queen
Elisabeth Music Competition in Brussels because he felt his
performances throughout the month-long competition were demonstrably
better than those given by the second-place winner, Shen Wen-Yu,
16, from China. Severin von Eckardstein, 25, from Germany, won
first prize.
A local daily quoted Lim as saying he and von Eckardstein were
the clear front-runners in the competition after early round
performances. While he recognizes the legitamacy of von
Eckardstein's win, Lim thought that Shen's performance left
something to be desired, a sentiment echoed by audiences and
local music critics covering the event.
While judging in music competitions is by nature subjective, Lim
more than hinted that there were conflicts of interest involving
a member of the jury. Shen is currently a student of Karl Heinz
Kammerling, who sits on this year's panel of judges. Kammerling
is also the former teacher of von Eckardstein.
In relinquishing third-place, Lim will also be giving up the
cash award of 15,000 euro.
The Queen Elisabeth Music Competition, named in honor of the
music loving Belgian queen, was started in 1951. Held annually
for young musicians of distinction, the competition rotates among
four categories in piano, violin, composition, and voice.
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