Hanurij Lee Wins Composition First Prize at Geneva Competition

South Korean composer Hanurij Lee won first prize in the Geneva Competition’s composition final on November 11, receiving CHF 15,000 for his orchestral work “Stuff #1”. The 20-year-old also collected all six special prizes following the final at Victoria Hall in Geneva. The Orchestre de la Suisse Romande performed his piece under Mats Thiersch, a finalist in the conducting competition. Composer Unsuk Chin chaired the composition jury, which also included Toshio Hosokawa, Magnus Lindberg, Augusta Read Thomas and Katharina Rosenberger. Rafael Marino Arcaro of Brazil took second prize and CHF 10,000, while Hong Kong’s Sing-Yat Chen received third prize and CHF 5,000. The competition drew a record 188 applications from composers representing 46 countries, with three selected for the final. Lee’s additional awards included the audience, young audience and students’ prizes. The Nicati-de-Luze Prize provides a CHF 5,000 commission for a seven-to-ten-minute solo instrumental or vocal work. The Basel Sinfonietta Prize brings a performance within two seasons, while the Primeurs Musicales Prize commissions a short string-ensemble work for an autumn 2027 premiere. Born in Seoul in 2006, Lee studies at the Korea National University of Arts. In his official programme note for “Stuff #1”, he wrote: “Repetition remains central”. He links the series to repetitive apartment structures and describes this work through images of dust, fur and a shaggy figure nodding its head. The competition, founded in 1939 and now in its 80th edition, concludes with its second conducting final on November 13.