BREAKING | Michiaki Ueno Awarded 1st Prize 2021 Geneva Cello Competition

He will receive CHF 20,000 plus an invitation to join the competition's two-year career development program — providing valuable career advice, coaching, concerts, and recording opportunities

25-year-old Michiaki Ueno from Japan has been awarded first prize at the 2021 Geneva International Cello Competition, in Geneva, Switzerland.

An artist-in-residence at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel, where he studies with Gary Hoffman and Jeroen Reuling, and former student of Pieter Wispelwey and Hakuo Mohri, Michiaki is a former top prize winner at the Lutoslawski and Brahms International Cello Competitions.

The second and third prizes were awarded to 24-year-old Bryan Cheng from Canada and 15-year-old Jaemin Han from South Korea.

For the Final Round, each of the finalists performed either Schumann's, Elgar's, Lutoslawski's, or Shostakovich's 2nd Cello Concerto, or Dutilleux's "Tout un monde lointain."

As the official media and broadcast partner, all rounds of this year's competition, both virtual and live, will be streamed right here on The Violin Channel and be available for playback.

36 candidates were originally selected to take part in the online opening round of this year's competition, with eight young musicians then invited to Geneva to compete in the Semi-Final and Final stages of the competition live in person.

The 2021 jury comprises Ivan Monighetti (Chair), Thomas Demenga, Michaela Fukačová, Ophélie Gaillard, Clive Greensmith, Qin Li-Wei, and Shauna Rolston.