Heejae Kim
| Heejae Kim | |
| Hangul | 김희재 |
|---|---|
| Revised Romanization | Gim Huijae |
| McCune–Reischauer | Kim Hŭijae |
Heejae Kim (also Hee-jae; born c. 1987) is a South Korean classical pianist. She won the Terence Judd–Hallé Orchestra Prize in the Leeds International Piano Competition in 2015, and was placed second overall.
Biography
Pianist Heejae Kim was awarded Second Prize at the world renowned Leeds International Piano Competition in 2015. She was also awarded the prestigious Terrence-Judd Hallé Orchestra Prize by Sir Mark Elder for her performance of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4. Heejae was placed Second at the UNISA International Piano Competition in South Africa (2012), Third at the Maria Canals International Piano Competition in Spain (2013), Third at the International Piano Competition of the Republic of San Marina in Italy (2014) and Sixth at the Seoul International Music Competition in South Korea (2014).
Heejae Kim has performed with The Hallé, English Chamber Orchestra, MDR Sinfonieorchester, Orchestra Sinfonica della Repubblica di San Marino, Orquestra Simfònica del Vallès, Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra, Korean Symphony Orchestra, Busan Philharmonic Orchestra and Changwon Philharmonic Orchestra. She has given recitals in United Kingdom, Germany, France, Belgium and South Korea.
Heejae was born in South Korea in 1987 and her musical talent was discovered and developed from her early years on. Starting her musical education with Choongmo Kang at the Korea National University of Arts in Korea, she continued her studies at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater ,,Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy,, Leipzig in Germany with support of Gerald Fauth, graduating in 2017.
Heejae is currently based in South Korea and teaches at the Seoul National University and Kyunghee National University.
Critical reception
Kim's performance of Beethoven's Piano Concerto no. 4 in the Leeds Piano Competition's final round was described as the audience's favourite.[1][2] The Guardian's music critic, Andrew Clements described Kim as being "genial, engaging", and added that "[s]he was utterly absorbed in the music in every bar."[1] The BBC Radio 3 commentator, Lucy Parham, praised her "thoughtful and stylish rendition", and wrote: "She particularly shone in the second and third movements and will definitely be a name to watch."[2] Murray Mclachlan, writing in the International Piano magazine, described her performance as "energised and experienced" ... "assured, fluent and articulate in the outer movements, while the second movement showed conviction and control: there was a real sense of presence in this movement's solo passages. Perhaps her literal approach to accents and sforzandi in the first movement could be questioned, and the finale needed at least a little more energy and sparkle, but overall this was extremely assured interpretation." He also commented that, in an earlier round, "she had stamped real authority and vision into a blistering account of Liszt's Fantasy and Fugue on BACH."[3]
References
- ^ a b Andrew Clements (14 September 2016), "Leeds International Piano competition final – first prize for Anna Tcybuleva, not the obvious choice", The Guardian, retrieved 3 January 2017
- ^ a b Lucy Parham (14 September 2015), "Leeds Piano Competition 2015: concerto final", Classical-music.com, retrieved 3 January 2017
- ^ Murray Mclachlan (26 November 2015), "Youthful Promise: Leeds International Piano Competition", International Piano