BREAKING | Russian Pianist Awarded 1st Prize at Eurovision Young Musicians Contest

Russian pianist Ivan Bessonov has been awarded 1st prize at the 2018 Eurovision Young Musicians Contest – in Edinburgh, Scotland

16-year-old Russian pianist Ivan Bessonov has today been awarded 1st prize at the 2018 Eurovision Young Musicians Contest – in Edinburgh, Scotland.

A student of Vadim Rudenko at the Moscow Central Music School, Ivan is a former major prize winner at the Chopin Piano Competition for Young Pianists and the Anton Rubinstein International Piano Competitions.

He will receive €7,000 – plus a solo engagement with the BBC Scottish Symphony.

The 2018 Final, also comprised 18-year-old violinist Nikola Pajanović from Slovenia, 16-year-old violinist Mira Foron from Germany, 16-year-old cellist Birgitta Elisa Oftestad from Norway, 17-year-old double bassist Indi Stivín from the Czech Republic and 18-year-old saxophonist Máté Bencze from Hungary.

Previous 1st prize winners include violinists Julian Rachlin, Julia Fischer, Isabelle van Keulen, Alexandra Soumm – and VC Young Artist Ziyu He.