Swiss cellist Samuel Niederhauser won the First Prize of the Cello Section of the George Enescu International Competition 2026 in the final held on Monday at the Romanian Athenaeum.
The Second Prize went to Joshua Kovac of the United States of America, and the Third Prize went to Sanghyeok Park of South Korea.
Niederhauser also won the Audience Award, as well as the Award for Best Performance of Malika Kishino's Waves of Gravel.
The three finalists performed on the stage of the Romanian Athenaeum with the National Radio Orchestra, under the baton of conductor Case Scaglione, on an evening that concluded the Cello Section of the 20th edition of the George Enescu International Music Competition.
In the finale, Niederhauser performed Cello Concerto No. 1 in E flat major, Op. 107 by Dmitri Shostakovich, while Joshua Kovac and Sanghyeok Park performed the Cello Concerto in B minor, Op. 104, B. 191, by Antonin Dvorak.
The results of the Cello Section were established by an international jury chaired by Arto Noras, which included Frans Helmerson, Elena Dubinets, Marin Cazacu, Enrico Dindo, Inbal Segev, Claudio Bohorquez, Dan Prelipcean and Valentin Radutiu.
For each of the three instrumental sections of the George Enescu International Competition - Cello, Violin and Piano - the First Prize is worth EUR 15,000, the Second Prize is worth EUR 10,000, and the Third Prize is worth EUR 5,000.
The finale also brought a series of special prizes. Joshua Kovac received the Serafim Antropov-Manu Prize worth 3,000 euros for the best performance of Sonata no. 2 in C major for cello and piano, op. 26 by George Enescu. Samuel Niederhauser received the Prize for the best performance of a chosen work - Waves of Gravel by Malika Kishino, worth EUR 2,000, as well as the Audience Award, worth EUR 1,000.
The Playing for Tomorrow award, worth EUR 1,500 euros, offered by BRD - Groupe Societe Generale, went to Seojin Jung of South Korea.
As the winner of the Cello contest, Niederhauser will perform, on February 14, 2027, a concert as part of the chamber season of the Teatro Fraschini in Pavia, Italy.
In the 2026 edition, Andreas Vierziger, curator and music strategist, will offer the winners and laureates of the instrumental sections mentoring and customised consulting sessions, tailored to their professional needs and goals.
The 2026 George Enescu International Competition continues throughout September 19, in Bucharest, with the Violin and Piano contests. This year's edition takes place under the theme "In Pursuit of Excellence" and it is reporting a record number of 819 applications from 58 countries - 756 for the competition and 63 for the masterclasses organised within the competition.
