It was, as always, for all candidates, from the preselection to the final evening very demanding. Everyone, selected or not, does not want that first place and certainly this evening there was not only the first prize in itself, but for the first time in history the first laureate takes home the famous cello of Pablo Casals (1876-1973) and can use it for four years to play masterfully on it, after the great master. Which cellist would not want that? It must be an experience of a lifetime.
We are not going to engage in open debate about who might have been better to get that first prize, who did not really belong in the finals and who should have been selected but was not... You know the annual recurring opinions. They are always interesting to hear and read. It all forms part of this competition that moves and involves countless people, touches them deeply emotionally. The KEW is more than just a competition, it is an event, an occasion that is talked about and debated for years to come. "Do you remember? That one and that one... Oh yes, and that one?"... Let us cherish the KEW, it is rooted in our musical DNA, even though it is said that competitions are only for horses, according to Hungarian composer Béla Bartók (1881-1945).
Gilles Ledure, chairman of the KEW, rang the bell, a true ritual that demands silence in the hall. He has the honor and pleasure of calling the prize winners from 1 to 6 and the six unranked candidates in alphabetical order to the stage. The tension is always palpable, even during this edition... On to a second 75 years!
The twelve laureates in alphabetical order
Andrew Ilhoon Byun – Clara Dietlin – Tae-Yeon Kim – Yo Kitamura – Leland Ko – Álvaro Lozano Cames – Lionel Martin – Krzysztof Michalski – Dilshod Narzillaev – Ettore Pagano – Ivan Sendetsky – Maria Zaitseva
The results
Ettore Pagano - First Prize - Queen Mathilde Prize - GRAND INTERNATIONAL QUEEN ELISABETH PRIZE - € 25.000
The First Laureate also receives the Goffriller 'Casals' cello on loan for a period of four years, thanks to the Pau Casals Foundation.
Tae-Yeon Kim - Second Prize, offered by the Federal Science Policy (Belspo) - PRIZE OF THE BELGIAN FEDERAL GOVERNMENT - € 20.000
Leland Ko - Third Prize - COUNT DE LAUNOIT PRIZE - € 17.000
Álvaro Lozano Cames - Fourth Prize, this year offered by the Government of the French Community - PRIZE OF THE COMMUNITY GOVERNMENTS OF BELGIUM - € 12.500
Yo Kitamura - Fifth Prize - PRIZE OF THE BRUSSELS CAPITAL REGION - € 10.000
Maria Zaitseva - Sixth Prize - PRIZE OF THE CITY OF BRUSSELS - € 8.000
Tae-Yeon Kim - Klara Prize - Klara and VRT MAX invite their listeners and viewers to vote for their favorite candidate among the finalists - € 2.500
Álvaro Lozano Cames - Prix RTBF Musiq3 - RTBF Musiq3, La Trois and Auvio invite their listeners and viewers to vote for their favorite candidate among the finalists - € 2.500
The six unranked laureates each receive € 4,000 WITH THE SUPPORT OF THE NATIONAL LOTTERY
Andrew Ilhoon Byun – Clara Dietlin – Lionel Martin – Krzysztof Michalski – Dilshod Narzillaev – Ivan Sendetsky