16-year-old violinist Lee Hyun-jung takes third at Long-Thibaud Competition

Violinist Lee Hyun-jung, 16, has taken third place at the Long-Thibaud International Competition in France.

According to the Kumho Culture Foundation, Lee claimed third place Saturday (local time) in the violin final of the 2026 Long-Thibaud International Competition, held at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris.

"Competing alongside world-class musicians and having the chance to perform on such a beautiful stage in Paris is something I will remember for a long time," Lee said.

In the final, Lee performed Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto in D major (Op. 35) with the Orchestra of the Republican Guard of France, conducted by Bastien Stil. The third-place prize carries 12,000 euros ($13,300). Regardless of placement, all prizewinners receive invitations to more than 10 music festivals, including performances at the Monte Carlo Opera, the Royal Opera of Versailles and the Gstaad New Year Festival.

The joint second-place prizes went to Francesco Papa of Italy and Stefaniya Pospehina of Russia, while Konishi Marika of Japan took fourth. The first-place prize had been set at 35,000 euros, but competition rules do not require the jury to award every rank.

This year's competition drew 200 violinists born between 1993 and 2010, who submitted video applications, with 18 advancing to the main rounds. Over three days beginning Nov. 10, competitors performed works centered on Bach and Paganini at the Conservatoire Claude Debussy in Paris. Nine then advanced to a semifinal round featuring 40-minute recitals, and four — including Lee — reached the final. Born in 2010, Lee competed at the youngest eligible age. The jury was chaired by violinist Maxim Vengerov, with 10 judges including Gidon Kremer, Michaela Martin and Boris Kuschnir.

The Long-Thibaud Competition was founded in 1943 in German-occupied Paris by French pianist Marguerite Long and violinist Jacques Thibaud. It began as a domestic French competition before relaunching as an international contest in 1946, alternating between piano and violin disciplines. In 2011, a vocal category was added in honor of soprano Régine Crespin.

Previous Korean prizewinners in the violin category include Shin Ji-a, a Kumho Young Prodigy alumna who took first place in 2008, and Yoo Da-yoon, a Kumho Young Artist alumna who finished second in 2023. In the piano category, Im Dong-hyuk won first place in 2001, Kim Jun-hee finished second in 2007, Ahn Jong-do took second place without a first-place winner in 2012, Lee Hyuk shared first place in 2022, and Kim Se-hyun won first place in 2025. Bass Shim Ki-hwan won the vocal category in 2011.

Lee made a debut at the Kumho Young Prodigy Concert in 2022 and won the Leonid Kogan International Violin Competition the same year. In 2024, Lee became the youngest runner-up in the violin category at the George Enescu International Competition in Romania, also receiving two special prizes. At the 10th Munetsugu Angel Violin Competition in Nagoya, Japan, in March, Lee won first place and the Central Aichi Symphony Orchestra Prize. Lee graduated at the top of the class from Yewon School and currently studies under Lee Seon-i.

"Through this competition, I have reaffirmed my love for the violin and for music," Lee said. "I will continue to perform with sincerity."