Winner of the George Enescu International Competition (2022), Benjamin Kruithof’s prize-winning performance of the Dvořák Cello Concerto was praised as being “noble, singing, beautiful” (Bachtrack).

In 2020, Benjamin took the First Prize, the Audience Award, and the prize for the best interpretation of the assignment composition at the “Cello Biennale Competition” in Amsterdam. His other competition successes include prize winner of the Pablo Casals Award in Spain (special award), the Gabrielli Competition in Berlin (second prize), the Anne and Françoise Groben Grand Prix in Luxembourg (first prize and audience award), the Flame Competition in Paris (first prize and special prize), the Leopold Bellan International Competition in Paris (first prize and audience award) as well as the International Knopf competition in Düsseldorf.

As a soloist, recent and forthcoming highlights for Benjamin include performances with the Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra, George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra, Luxembourg Chamber Orchestra, Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie Herford, Liechtenstein Symphony Orchestra, and the East-West Chamber Orchestra at the Enescu Festival. In recital, he has performed at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Gasteig in Munich, Kings Place in London and the Salle Cortot in Paris.

An active chamber musician, Benjamin has participated in various chamber music academies such Seiji Ozawa Academy (2021, 2022) and in the summer of 2023 he will play at Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Grachtenfestival Amsterdam, Krzyzowa Music and the Enescu Festival.

In February 2020 he recorded his first CD “Russian Mood” with the orchestra Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie Herford for the label Ars Production. For this recording he was nominated in 4 categories of the “OPUS KLASSIK 2022”.

Benjamin Kruithof was born in Luxembourg into a family of musicians and started playing the cello at the age of 5 at the “Conservatoire du Nord” with Raju Vidali. In recent years Benjamin studied with Professors such as Mirel Iancovici (Conservatorium Maastricht), and Maria Kliegel (Hfmt Köln). Since 2017 Benjamin is a student of Prof. Jens-Peter Maintz at the University of the Arts in Berlin. Benjamin received additional important musical training at the International Music Academy in Liechtenstein.

Benjamin is currently playing a precious 18th-century instrument made by the Italian violin maker G.B. Guadagnini, which is on loan from the Berlin University of the Arts. Moreover, he also plays a Testore cello on loan to him by the “Deutsche Stiftung Musikleben”.