The US group, which won third prize at the 2015 Wigmore Hall International String Quartet Competition, receives JPY 3m (£20,700) for its Osaka win

aizuri quartet

The Aizuri Quartet from the USA has won first prize, worth JPY 3m (£20,700), in the string quartet section of the Ninth Osaka International Chamber Music Competition in Japan.

The triennial event took place this year from 13 to 21 May in string quartet and wind ensemble categories, which ran alongside masterclasses, concerts and an informal Festa, with no age or repertoire restrictions.

Second prize in the string quartet division, worth JPY 1.5m (£10,350) went to the Ulysses Quartet from the USA, while third prize, worth JPY 1m (£6,900) went to the Viano String Quartet, also from the USA.

This year's jury was chaired by cellist Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi and included violinists MartinuBeaver, Kazuki Sawa and Levon Chilingirian; violists Yoshiko Kawamoto and Homggang Li; and cellist Paul Katz.

Third prize winner at the 2015 Wigmore Hall International String Quartet Competition in London, the Aizuri Quartet comprises violinists Miho Saegusa and Ariana Kim, violist Ayane Kozasa and cellist Karen Ouzounian. The ensemble was Ernst Stiefel String Quartet in Residence at the Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts from 2015 to 2016, and String Quartet in Residence at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia from 2014 to 2016.

Photo: Erica Lyn