A HONG KONG student studying music in the United States has returned to win the top prizes in the territory's biggest piano competition - an $80,000 grand piano and a nomination to represent Hong Kong at an international competition.
Julie Kwok Pun-man, 21, won both first and second prize in the Open section at the Second Open Piano Competition, organised by the Hong Kong Piano Tutors Association and Tom Lee Music Foundation.
'At the Oberlin Conservatory where I study, the fast-learning geniuses are mostly Orientals. But the real artist is he who overcomes the flaws that handicap him from giving the most artistic interpretation,' said Ms Kwok.
The competition was judged by five examiners from the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music and the Trinity College of Music in London.
The chairman of the tutors association, Monnie Chan Yuet-hung, said more than 200,000 people were learning piano in Hong Kong: one in 30 of the population. This compared to only one in 90 in Britain, said Trinity College chief examiner David Wright.
'Ten years ago, Singapore students stood out. But that difference is hardly noticeable now because Hong Kong candidates have improved much more rapidly,' Mr Wright said.
