Meet the Winners of Concertino Praga 2025

Raeun Hong

Raeun Hong was born in 2009 in Seoul, South Korea, into a musical family. She began her musical journey at the age of five, playing piano and violin, and added the oboe when she was eight. At just ten years old, she became the youngest student of woodwinds at the Korea National Institute, where she studied under Professor Ingo Goritzki. In 2020, she received the school award and the title of Outstanding Young Artist of the Year.

Among Raeun’s most significant competition achievements in recent years are the first prize and the Music Director’s Award at the International Music Competition in Barletta, Italy, the grand prize at the International Competition in Vienna in 2023, and several first prizes at national and international competitions.

In 2023, the Kumho Music Institute in Seoul named her its Young Musician, which gave her the opportunity to perform a recital at the Kumho Art Hall in March 2024. That same year, she became the youngest oboist in history to advance to the second round of the International Oboe Competition in Markneukirchen, Germany.

At the final performance of this year’s competition in Prague, she presented an interpretation of Rietz’s three‑movement work from 1856, impressing with a sensitive and distinctive expression and a clear grasp of the composition.

Yeonah Kim

Yeonah Kim was also born in Seoul, South Korea, in 2014. She first picked up the violin at the age of four and has been studying under Sunny Lee at the prestigious Seoul Central Conservatory since the age of five.

Yeonah’s first solo performance with a chamber orchestra took place when she was just six years old. Since then, she has collected awards at national competitions. In 2022, she became the youngest participant in the Kumho Prodigy audition. The following year, she won second place at the Arthur Grumiaux International Violin Competition in Belgium, and the same result along with the Audience Award at the Italian competition Piccolo Violino Magico.

In September 2023, she shone at the International Mozart Competition for Young Musicians in Zhuhai, China, where, as the youngest participant, she won first prize, the Audience Award, and the Young Jury Award.

She made her debut at the Kumho Prodigy concert in April 2024. Since March 2025, she has been performing with the Prime Philharmonic Orchestra, and will soon appear with the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra.

At the Concertino Praga competition, she performed Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto in D major, dazzling not only with her technical assurance but also with deep musical expression. Her performance charmed both the jury and the audience, making her the youngest finalist in this year’s competition.

Photo: Dvořák Prague Festival