Benjamin Kruithof, a young musician from Luxembourg, won the top prize of the Cello Section of the 2022 George Enescu International Competition. In the final, he performed the Cello Concerto in B minor Op. 104 by Dvořák, accompanied by the George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Tito Muñoz. 

In addition to the big prize worth EUR 15,000, Kruithof also won 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. 

Benjamin Kruithof plays an 18th-century instrument made by Italian luthier G.B. Guadagnini. He began studying the cello at the age of 5 at the Conservatoire du Nord with Raju Vidali, and later performed with the Luxembourg Chamber Orchestra, Herford Philharmonic, or the 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, and Cortot Hall in Paris. 

In February 2020, he recorded his first CD with the Herford Philharmonic at Ars Production. Then, in 2021, he was invited to attend the Seiji Ozawa Academy in Switzerland.

Constantin Borodin (Republic of Moldova/Romania) won the second prize in Enescu Competition’s cello final (worth EUR 10,000), followed by Constantin Siepermann (Germany) in third place (EUR 5,000). The jury also awarded the prize for the best foreign accompanist, which went to the Italian Claudio Berra.  

The 2022 Enescu Competition trophies, given to the three young cellists, are made of glass and bear the signature of the artist Iulia Năstase. 

The 18th edition of the George Enescu International Competition takes place in Bucharest between September 4 and 18. Over 100 young musicians from all over the world signed up for the online stage of the contest, and 34 of them got the opportunity to take the stage at the Romanian Athenaeum in the Semi-Final and Final stages of the three interpretive sections: violin, cello and piano.

irina.marica@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: the organizers; photo by Alex Damian)