Chinese wins Naumburg
NewsThe winner of Naumburg’s 2023 International Piano Competition is Yang (Jack) Gao, 19, from China.
Second was Anna Han, USA, 27. Third was Sahun (Sam) Hong, USA, 29.
The final was held on Saturday, November 4 at the 92 Street Y. Judges includedAnton Nel and Ursula Oppens. The winner receives $25,000, two Carnegie Hall recitals and a commissioned work.
Unfortunately not the cleanest of competitions. Naumburg has sadly become a shadow of what it used to be.
Jack studies with Jerome Lowenthal, the partner of Jury Chair Ursula Oppens. He was clearly advised to programme the John Corigliano Piano Concerto, which he played with the Juilliard Orchestra this year. Corigliano was a fellow juror and also sits on the Naumburg Board of Directors.
Dude’s not even trying with that headshot. It looks like he snuck in there after a rehearsal – chairs and stands in the background, shirt and suit wrinkled, photo blurry and out of focus/shot with a smartphone. C’mon man, at least pretend it’s a legit competition.
What you say about the jury members is true. But I attended the finals, I heard all 4 finalists, and Gao gave the best performance. But I can’t say he’s “the winner” because I didn’t hear the earlier rounds. It’s now up to Gao to either sink or swim – so let’s wish him well.
Can you just stop labeling accomplished musicians by their nationality in the headlines? Not only is it dehumanizing, it is simply not the point of competitions. Sometimes, I really think you need to catch up Norman.
Pretty soon, headlines will instead read: “Non- Asian wins (insert ” music faculty post “, “competition”, “concertmaster spot”. DEI, you see.
All the top 3 winners have either both parents or one parent with Chinese genes. Congratulations! Great achievement.
Actually Sam Hong is Korean, so sounds like Dan just might be kinda racist ♂️♂️♂️