International Krzysztof Penderecki Cello Competition 2023 Announces Candidates

Held in Poland from November 26 to December 4, 2023, the fourth edition comprises over 40 participants

Held every five years since 2008, the International Krzysztof Penderecki Cello Competition is open to cellists who are aged 16 to 30 years old.

The competition will run in three rounds — 45 participants have been selected for the first round, 12 competitors will be accepted to the second round, and a maximum of four competitors will enter the third round.

The first prize winner will receive PLN 80,000; second place will receive PLN 40,000; third prize is PLN 20,000; and the fourth prize is PLN 10,000. An honorary mention will go to a maximum of two competitors.

Participants of the 4th International Krzysztof Penderecki Cello Competition are: 

• Ráhel Borka | Hungary 
• Giacomo Cardelli | Italy 
• Yunseo Cho | Republic of Korea 
• Arthur Daems | Belgium 
• Ania Custodio Folch | Spain 
• Hideaki Fujiwara | Japan 
• Go Eun Sol Heo | Republic of Korea 
• Cyprien Keiser | Luxembourg 
• Dawoon Kim | Republic of Korea 
• Deokyong (Claire) Kim | Republic of Korea 
• Jungyoon Lee | Republic of Korea 
• So Min Lee | Republic of Korea 
• Youbien Lee | Republic of Korea 
• Saebom Lee | Republic of Korea 
• Dongyeol Lee | Republic of Korea 
• Cyprien Lengagne | France/Switzerland 
• Maria Leszczyńska-Thieu | Poland 
• Hongxuan Li | China 
• Jiayi Liu | China 
• Anna Meipariani | Georgia 
• Oliwia Meiser | Poland 
• Krzysztof Michalski | Poland 
• Enrico Mignani | Italy 
• Charlotte Miles | Australia 
• Shuki Minagawa | Japan 
• Vesper Seonwoo Park | Republic of Korea 
• Sang Hyeok Park | Republic of Korea 
• Cazal Roman | France 
• Felix Rosenboom | Germany 
• Maria Salvatori | Italy 
• Yosuke Shimizu | Japan 
• Alejandro Viana | Spain 
• Carlos Vidal Ballester | Spain 
• Vilem Vlcek | Czech Republic 
• Andrii Vorontsov | Ukraine 
• Chengyue Wen | China 
• Juliet Wolff | Germany 
• Wanxuan Wu | China 
• Monika Würsten | Poland/Switzerland 
• Xiaotang Xu | China 
• Yoonsoo Yeo | Republic of Korea 
• Jeein You | Republic of Korea

Participants who have since resigned from the competition included Miquel Garcia Ramon from Spain, Hun Choi of the Republic of Korea, and Dilshod Narzillaev from Uzbekistan.

The jury comprises Elżbieta Penderecka, Zdzisław Łapiński, Julius Berger, Anne Gastinel, Liwu Ji, Kangho Lee, Ivan Monighetti, Arto Noras, Csaba Onczay, Amit Peled. 

“I wish all Candidates who will have honored us with their presence, to make their stay in our beautiful city an unforgettable experience which will remain in their memory for a long time,” said Łapiński. “I hope that participation in the 4th International Krzysztof Penderecki Cello Competition will become a strong impulse to the development of their artistic careers.”

The competition is named for composer Krzysztof Penderecki (1933–2020). The creator of new sounds and ways of notation, he was the winner of 146 awards, the recipient of honorary doctorates from 39 universities, and a professor and rector of the Academy of Music in Kraków, which has been named after him since 2022.