After a yearlong postponement, the Isang Yun Competition 2021, organized by the Tongyeong International Music Foundation, is underway with the first round of competitions taking place Monday.

The annual competition, held in remembrance of the renowned Korea-born composer I-sang Yun (1917-1995), takes place at the coastal city of Tongyeong, South Gyeongsang Province, alternating among three disciplines: cello, piano and violin.

This year, the competition is held for the violin discipline, following a yearlong postponement from 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

A total of 103 contenders from 24 countries applied. They were rounded up to 19 finalists, among whom 12 are of Korean nationality.

This week, the finalists go through two rounds of competition from Monday to Thursday, followed by the final round on Saturday, where the contenders will perform with conductor Dmitry Sitkovetsky and the Tongyeong Festival Orchestra. An awards ceremony will follow.

The competition will recognize winners for up to three main prizes along with three special awards, the Isang Yun Prize, Seong-Yawng Park Prize and the UNESCO City of Music Prize.

The winners are expected to perform at the Winner’s Concert on Sunday.

The jury members consist of chairperson Kim Nam-yun, violinists Shmuel Ashkensasi, Chung Choon-soo, Boris Garlitsky, Lena Neudauer and more.

The competition is live streamed through the foundation’s YouTube channel.

By Im Eun-byel (silverstar@heraldcorp.com)