Queen Elisabeth International Music Competition to Launch Cello Division

The Queen Elisabeth International Music Competition, in Brussels has today announced the launch of a new Cello division – with the first competition to take place in May 2017.

“The decision to launch a new competition, dedicated to the cello, was a natural one, taken after meeting with a number of outstanding young cellists and against a background of worldwide enthusiasm for the instrument today,” Competition Secretary General Michel-Etienne Van Neste has said.

Moving forward the annual competition structure will be adjusted from a 3 to a 4 year cycle - with the violin division to be hosted in May of this year, piano in 2016, cello 2017 and voice in 2018.

Founded in 1937 by violinist Eugène Ysaÿe, the Queen Elisabeth International Music Competition 1st prize is widely respected among the most prestigious and difficult accolades in classical music.

Previous 1st prize winners include: David Oistrakh, Leonid Kogan, Leon Fleisher, Jaime Laredo, Philippe Hirschhorn, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Miriam Fried, Vadim Repin and Nikolaj Znaider - and VC 'Young Artists' Sergey Khachatryan, Ray Chen and Andrey Baranov.

The rules for the 2017 cello competition will be announced in January 2016.