Benjamin Kruithof won the 2022 George Enescu International Competition, Cello Section, after a Final in which he performed the Cello Concerto in B minor Op. 104 by Dvořák. The Cello Final of the Enescu Competition took place on Thursday, September 8, at the Romanian Athenaeum. Constantin Borodin (Republic of Moldova/Romania) was in second place, followed by Constantin Siepermann (Germany) in third place.
Benjamin Kruithof of Luxembourg won on Tuesday evening the First Prize of the Cello Section of the George Enescu International Competition 2022, at the end of a Final in which he performed the Cello Concerto in B minor Op. 104 by Dvořák, accompanied by the George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Tito Muñoz. The jury also awarded the Award for the best foreign accompanist, which went to the Italian Claudio Berra.
The Jury of the Cello Section at the 2022 edition of the Enescu Competition was formed by: David Geringas, (President of the Jury), Natasha Brofsky, Enrico Dindo, Reinhard Latzko, Leonid Gorokhov, Alexandra Guțu, Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi, Marin Cazacu and Meehae Ryo.
“It was a difficult two years, due to the pandemic, but I am happy to note that this did not affect us from an artistic point of view, because we had some special performances in this Contest. I am especially happy that I had the opportunity to listen to the works of George Enescu”, said the renowned cellist David Geringas, President of the Jury of the Cello Section, on the stage of the Romanian Athenaeum on Thursday evening, who announced the results of the Final.
The first prize of the 2022 George Enescu International Competition is worth 15,000 euros, the second prize 10,000 euros, and the third prize 5,000 euros. Also, the winner of the 2022 Enescu Competition has the opportunity to perform in the 2023 and 2024 editions of the George Enescu International Festival and Competition, as well as in concerts organized during the Romanian Philharmonic seasons. The 2022 Enescu Competition trophies, given to the three young cellists, are made of glass and bear the signature of the artist Iulia Năstase.
Benjamin Kruithof (Luxembourg) plays an 18th-century instrument made by Italian luthier G.B. Guadagnini, which is made available to him by the University of the Arts in Berlin. He began studying the cello at the age of 5 at the Conservatoire du Nord, with Raju Vidali. Benjamin Kruithof has performed with the Luxembourg Chamber Orchestra, Herford Philharmonic, Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra, in concert halls such as Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Gasteig München, Kings Place in London, Changsha Concert Hall, Renmin University Hall, Guangzhou Opera, Philharmonic in Luxembourg, Cortot Hall in Paris. He performed with Conrad van Alphen, Adrian Adlam, Vadym Kholodenko, Alena Baeva, Semion Gavrikov, Pascal Schumacher, Thomas Hell, Florian Krumpöck, Hartmut Haenchen and Vahan Mardirossian. In February 2020 he recorded his first CD with the Herford Philharmonic at Ars Production. In 2021 he was invited to attend the Seiji Ozawa Academy in Switzerland.
Constantin Borodin (Republic of Moldova/Romania) born in Chisinau, is a laureate of several national and international competitions. He started studying the cello at the age of 6, in his hometown, under the guidance of teachers V. Komissarova and B. Savici. He has performed as a soloist with the Alt-Hastedter Bremen Chamber Orchestra, the Radio Romania Chamber Orchestra, the National Youth Orchestra of the Republic of Moldova, the Dinu Lipatti Philharmonic, the Ion Dumitrescu Philharmonic. He also gave recitals in the Great Hall of the Romanian Athenaeum in Bucharest, in Riga and in Chisinau. Constantin Borodin collaborated with the Brandenburgisches Orchester Eberswalde, the Geringas Chamber Orchestra and the Potsdam Kammerakademie.
Constantin Siepermann (Germany) has been studying cello since he was 5 years old. He won first prize at the 2016 federal edition of the Jugend Musiziert Competition in Germany, as well as the special WESPE Award from the German Music Council for the best performance of the Paul Hindemith Solo Sonata. He is also a laureate of the Competition for young talents of the Baltic Music Festival (2016), the Dussmann Competition in Berlin (2014 and 2017) and the Napolinova Competition (2020). In February 2022 he won the Grand Prize of the Gustav Mahler International Cello Competition (Jihlava/Prague). Constantin Siepermann has performed at Philharmonie and Konzerthaus Berlin, Musikverein Vienna, Amati Festival in Maastricht, International Music Sessions in Holland, Bayreuth Festival, Young Euro Classic, Classic Summer in Usedom. He plays a Riccardo Antoniazzi cello (Cremona, 1890), which was made available to him through a private sponsorship.
The 18th edition of the George Enescu International Competition takes place in Bucharest between September 4 and 18. This year, the George Enescu International Competition marks the return to the theater, after two years in which cultural events had to reinvent themselves and move partially or totally online. The message that the Enescu Contest sends this year is that of regaining hope: Music of hope | Music of Hope. Over 100 young musicians from all over the world signed up for the online stage of the Contest. Among them, 34 talented artists will have the opportunity to take the stage of the Romanian Athenaeum, between September 4 and 18, in the Semi-Final and Final stages in the three interpretive sections: violin, cello and piano.
For more details, please visit: https://www.festivalenescu.ro
The official photographers of the Enescu 2022 Competition will make a series of live images from the events of the Competition available to the media free of charge. They can be accessed at this link. Also, at the request of the press, the organizers can offer free images from the artists’ archives or from the Contest’s archive.
Press Contact:
Maria Ursică: [email protected], +40 728 832 180
