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15.09.2022 #classical #music

Benjamin Kruithof wins the George Enescu International Competition (cello section)

© Alex Damian

On Tuesday September 7th, Luxembourg cellist Benjamin Kruithof won the first prize at the Enescu International Competition, Bucarest, after performing Dvořák’s Cello Concerto op. 104 with George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Tito Muñoz.

This distinction will allow Benjamin Kruithof to perform at the George Enescu International Festival in 2023 and 2024, a major event for classical music in Europe.

About The George Enescu International Competition
The George Enescu International Competition serves as an international launching platform for future world-renowned musicians and aims to promote the compositions of the great Romanian musician among the new generation of artists around the world. It is thus a natural extension of the George Enescu International Festival, the most prestigious cultural event organized in Romania. The Competition has four sections – violin, cello, piano and composition – and ranks in top five worldwide in the landscape of classical music competitions.

About Benjamin Kruithof

Benjamin Kruithof (Luxembourg) began studying the cello at the age of 5 at the Conservatoire du Nord, with Raju Vidali. He currently is a student at the University of Arts in Berlin. Benjamin Kruithof performed with the Luxembourg Chamber Orchestra, the Herford Philharmonic, Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra, in concert halls such as Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Gasteig München, Kings Place in London, Cortot Hall in Paris. In February 2020 he recorded his first CD Russian Mood with the Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie under the baton of Conrad van Alphen, which was praised in the press. In 2022, he was invited to attend the Seiji Ozawa Academy in Switzerland.