The first prize in the grand piano competition goes ex aequo to Japanese Masaya Kamei and South Korean Hyuk Lee. Two masterful artists.
Par Florence Colombani
Published on
Un wind of youth blew last night on the Théâtre du Châtelet where the announcement of the results of the Long-Thibaud 2022 competition took place. Hyuk Lee, 22, and Masaya Kamei, 20, received joint first prize in the famous competition piano which had not been able to stand for two years due to the Covid. A consecration for these very young people, one South Korean, the other Japanese, who shook hands warmly and then dazzled the audience by playing – accompanied by the Republican Guard Orchestra, conducted by François Boulanger – two movements of the piano concertos presented in the competition: the number 2 of Prokofiev for Lee, the number 5 of Saint-Saëns for Kamei.
With these two pianists, it is “the eternity of music”, this “universal language”, in the words of Gérard Bekerman on the stage of the Théâtre du Châtelet, that a high-flying jury who were among its members François-René Duchâble, Philippe Entremont and the legendary Bruno Leonardo Gelber. Gérard Bekerman, President of the Long-Thibaud Foundation, opened the evening with a moving tribute to Ukraine to the sound of Song of Jean Racineby Gabriel Fauré, while recalling that the Russian pianists had been able to participate in the competition (more than a hundred candidates to arrive at the six finalists of November 13).
Mix of virtuosity and sensitivity
Originally from Seoul, Hyuk Lee has been studying at the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow since he was 14 years old. He is both a pianist and a violinist, practices each instrument four hours a day, and plays chess at a semi-professional level. His interpretation of Prokofiev, powerful and generous, reveals a beautiful artistic nature. With his Beatles haircut, Masaya Kamei was trained in his native Japan, and his admirable execution of the Concerto number 5 by Saint-Saëns combines virtuosity and sensitivity.
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“When Aldo Ciccolini entered the competition in 1949, he was totally unknown, said the great pianist and founder of the competition, Marguerite Long, in 1954, he was a small young man with his little black velvet jacket who was charming. and who didn’t speak a word of French. He came out triumphant with his prize, and eight days later, he gave a concert at the Salle Gaveau, there was all of Paris. There, I was really rewarded for the trouble given by the competition, because the goal was achieved. The road is clear for Hyuk Lee and Masaya Kamei, even if in addition to concert halls, it is on social networks and other YouTube channels that a new audience will discover them.