Photo by Scott Chernis
At the Sunday finals of the 28th annual Irving M. Klein International String Competition, violinist Youjin Lee, 17, won first prize, which is valued at $14,400 in cash and fees from numerous future solo appearances that are part of the prize.
"There is an intense force of sound and versatility in Youjin’s playing that is pure and rare. Each note is incredibly concentrated and intensified, fitting into a larger picture," said Mitchell Sardou Klein, competition director, adding that all finalists were "breathtakingly wonderful, and each has a persona that wins us all. It was a very difficult decision for the jury."
Previous award winners include young musicians now in the top ranks of soloists, such as David Requiro, Jennifer Koh, Vadim Gluzman, and Frank Huang.
Youjin Lee began her violin studies at age 3 in South Korea. She won many major national competitions there. For the past two years, she's been a student at the Itzhak Perlman Music Program, and was selected for a summer program in New York, as well as a winter residency in Florida. She is a junior at Ribet Academy High School in Los Angeles.
The other award winners: Wyatt Underhill, 22, violin, won second prize; violist Dana Kelley, 22, won third prize; fourth prizes were awarded to Kevin Lin, violin, and cellist Brannon Cho, cello, 18. Underhill also won this year’s prize for Best Performance of the Commissioned Work.
This year’s winners are among 97 Klein String Competition entrants — an all-time high — from 10 countries. The jury included previous Klein winners Richard Hirschl and Frank Huang, as well as Joel Friedman, Peter Gelfand, Michael Gelfand, Alan Grishman, Donna Mudge, Melvin Margolis, and Barbara Day Turner.