Swiss cellist Samuel Niederhauser took First Prize, while Joshua Kováč of the United States and South Korea’s Sanghyeok Park completed the podium in Bucharest.
The George Enescu International Competition has announced the winners of its 2026 Cello Section, following the final held on 7 September at the Romanian Athenaeum in Bucharest.
Swiss cellist Samuel Niederhauser, 28, won the €15,000 First Prize, while Joshua Kováč of the United States took the €10,000 Second Prize and South Korea’s Sanghyeok Park received the €5,000 Third Prize.
Niederhauser also collected two additional distinctions: the €1,000 Audience Award and the €2,000 prize for the best performance of Waves of Gravel, the competition’s commissioned work by Japanese composer Malika Kishino.
The three finalists performed with the Romanian Radio National Orchestra under Case Scaglione. Niederhauser played Shostakovich’s Cello Concerto No. 1 in E-flat major, Op. 107, while Kováč and Park both chose Dvořák’s Cello Concerto in B minor, Op. 104.
The cello jury was chaired by Finnish cellist Arto Noras and included Claudio Bohórquez, Marin Cazacu, Enrico Dindo, Elena Dubinets, Frans Helmerson, Dan Prelipcean, Valentin Răduțiu and Inbal Segev.
A total of 234 cellists applied for this year’s competition, with 41 selected to compete in Bucharest.
Niederhauser, who was a laureate of the Queen Elisabeth Competition in 2022 and won Third Prize at the International Paulo Cello Competition in Helsinki in 2023, is currently principal cellist of the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra.
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