Twelve Cellists Advance to Semi-Finals of 2026 George Enescu International Competition
The 2026 George Enescu International Competition, a biennial event that has launched the careers of many prominent musicians, has announced that twelve cellists have been selected to compete in the second round of the cello division.
The second round will take place on 2–3 September at the Romanian Athenaeum in Bucharest, a historic concert hall that hosts the competition’s concerts. The twelve finalists will perform recitals of up to 45 minutes. Each recital must include a mandated work chosen by the competition, a cello sonata from the repertoire of Brahms, Britten, Debussy or Shostakovich, and a virtuosic piece selected from a list that includes works by Boulanger, Davydov, Popper and Rostropovich. From these performances, six cellists will be chosen to advance to the semi‑final round scheduled for 5 September.
The final round of the cello division will be held on 7 September. The winner will receive a first‑prize award of €15,000.
The jury for the cello division is chaired by Finnish cellist Arto Noras. Other members of the panel are Claudio Bohórquez, Marin Cazacu, Enrico Dindo, Elena Dubinets, Frans Helmerson, Dan Prelipcean, Valentin Răduțiu and Inbal Segev.
The twelve cellists who have reached the second round are:
Miriam Bensaïd (France) Yunseo Cho (South Korea) Goeunsol Heo (South Korea) Seojin Jung (South Korea) Joshua Kováč (United States) Jeri Lee (South Korea) Ethan Murphy (United States) Samuel Niederhauser (Switzerland) Sanghyeok Park (South Korea) Francesco Stefanelli (Italy) Ziyang Zhao (China) Amelia Zitoun (United States)
The competition itself began on 23 August 2026 and will run through 19 September. It includes four divisions—Composition, Cello, Violin and Piano—each with its own jury and set of rounds.
The 2026 edition marks the twentieth anniversary of the George Enescu International Competition. The event is named after the Romanian composer and violinist George Enescu and is held in Bucharest, Romania. The competition has a long history of identifying and rewarding young musicians; past winners include pianists Radu Lupu, Elisabeth Leonskaja and Dmitri Alexeev.
The Romanian Athenaeum, where the second round will be staged, is a landmark concert hall that opened in 1888. It is known for its ornate architecture and excellent acoustics and serves as the home of the George Enescu Philharmonic.
The competition’s jury members are distinguished musicians and educators. Arto Noras, for example, has served as a juror for several major competitions, including the Tchaikovsky, Casals and Cassado contests. Other jury members bring expertise from a range of musical traditions and have performed with leading orchestras worldwide.
The competition’s structure requires candidates to demonstrate technical mastery, musical interpretation and versatility across a wide repertoire. The second‑round recitals are designed to test these qualities in a concert‑style setting.
The next phase of the competition will see the six semi‑finalists perform on 5 September. The final round on 7 September will determine the first‑prize winner and the accompanying monetary award.
As the competition progresses, the cellists and the public will watch to see which of the twelve finalists will advance and ultimately claim the prize.
The competition’s official website and the Romanian Athenaeum’s event calendar provide additional details and updates for the public and participants.
