Swiss cellist Samuel Niederhauser took the first prize of €15,000, plus two special awards and future concert engagements
The final round of the 2026 George Enescu International Competition cello division took place on 7 September at the Roman Athenaeum in Bucharest. Three finalists performed a concerto with the Romanian Radio National Orchestra, conducted by Case Scaglione.
28-year-old Swiss cellist Samuel Niederhauser was awarded first prize of €15,000, following his performance of Shostakovich’s Cello Concerto no.1. He also won €2,000 for the best interpretation of the competition’s commissioned work – Waves of Gravel by Malika Kishino – plus the audience award of €1,000.
Niederhauser will also perform a concert at Teatro Fraschini di Pavia, Italy in February 2027 as part of his first prizewinner package, plus additional concerts and recitals in Romania and career mentoring and guidance.
Niederhauser won third prize at the 2023 International Paulo Cello Competition in Helsinki and is a laureate of the 2022 Queen Elisabeth Competition. He studied with Thomas Demenga at the University of Music in Basel and with Thomas Grossenbacher at the University of Arts in Zurich.
Second prize of €10,000 was awarded to 19-year-old US cellist Joshua Kováč, who also won the Serafim Antropov-Manu Prize for the best interpretation of George Enescu’s Sonata No. 2 in C major for cello and piano, op.26, worth €3,000.
21-year-old South Korean cellist Sanghyeok Park won third prize of €5,000, while 14-year-old semi-finalist Seojin Jung, also from South Korea, won the Playing for Tomorrow prize, worth €1,500.
This year’s jury was presided by Arto Noras and comprises Claudio Bohórquez, Marin Cazacu, Enrico Dindo, Elena Dubinets, Frans Helmerson, Dan Prelipcean, Valentin Răduțiu and Inbal Segev.
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