When History Bows to the Cello

A Competition Steeped in Legacy

Founded in 1937 in memory of Eugène Ysaÿe, the Queen Elisabeth Competition remains one of the most demanding events of its kind anywhere, with its trademark blend of technical brinkmanship and psychological pressure: long rounds, imposed works, sequestered preparation, and a great sense of being measured not just as an instrumentalist, but as an artist and person.

For this special anniversary year, the cello edition showcased the values Queen Elisabeth championed: curiosity for new music, respect for tradition, and an insistence on deep artistic responsibility. That ethos continues to influence not only the competition in Brussels, but also the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel in Waterloo and the Queen Elisabeth Hall in Antwerp. Especially the Music Chapel, founded in 1939 by the Queen and Ysaÿe, has remained a haven for intense, long‑term mentorship, where young musicians work in close contact with established masters. 

In 2026, these three institutions explicitly joined forces under the shared “150 Years Queen Elisabeth” jubilee logo, aligning their missions through joint and individual concerts, educational projects, residencies and festivals across Belgium. The cello competition was the flagship of this vast programme of concerts, exhibitions, and participatory projects.

The 2026 cello edition began in relatively low-key fashion. By the end of January, a preselection jury had examined video recordings from 185 applicants behind closed doors and chosen the candidates for the live rounds. In May, those selected came to Brussels for the first rounds at Flagey. Besides an extensive and varied repertoire participants were to perform two new works written specifically for the competition: one for the semi-final recital, and another with orchestra for the final.

That orchestral imposed work, Fang Man’s “Four Odes to the Tidings of Flowers”, became a central test of the finalists’ capacity to assimilate and project a contemporary score under pressure. True to Queen Elisabeth tradition, the twelve finalists studied it in complete isolation during a week at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel, without any external assistance. They then performed it in the final week at Bozar, from 25 to 30 May, alongside a concerto of their choice, with the Belgian National Orchestra under Antony Hermus. The result was not only a competition but a great panorama of cello playing, framed by a brand-new orchestral work.

The atmosphere across the finals was one of sustained intensity. Queen Mathilde attended most evenings, a visible sign of the Belgian royal family’s continued support for the competition and for emerging artists. The closing evening, with the announcement of the prizes and the awards ceremony, brought that tension and engagement to a climax: all twelve finalists received standing ovations, a rare show of unanimity and respect from an audience that had followed them closely across the week.

Financially, too, the Queen Elisabeth Competition confirmed its particular status. Beyond the main prizes, the six unranked finalists each receive 4,000€ with the support of the National Lottery. In a competitive landscape where many non-laureates leave empty-handed, this remains an exceptional gesture and a concrete acknowledgement of the artistic level required simply to reach the final.

Presiding over the 2026 decisions was a jury chaired by Gilles Ledure and composed of a superb panel of international cellists: Natalie Clein, Roel Dieltiens, Valentin Erben, Ophélie Gaillard, Anne Gastinel, Benjamin Glorieux, Marie Hallynck, Gregor Horsch, Anssi Karttunen, Daniel Müller-Schott, Sharon Robinson, Jan Vogler, Jian Wang and Sonia Wieder-Atherton. 

In the end, Ettore Pagano received First Prize, the Queen Mathilde Prize of 25,000€, along with a four-year loan of Casals’s Goffriller cello. A graduate of the Santa Cecilia Academy in Rome, he is currently studying at the Universität der Künste Berlin under Jens Peter Maintz. His recent trajectory has been steep: in 2025 he received the Premio Abbiati from the Italian Music Critics Association, the ICMA Classeek Award and the “Una vita nella Musica – Giovani” prize from Teatro La Fenice. In 2024 he took Second Prize, the audience award and the best sonata prize at the Enescu Competition; in 2022 he won First Prize, best sonata and two special prizes at the Khachaturian Competition. On the concert platform, he has already appeared with the Düsseldorfer Philharmoniker, the Graz Philharmonic and the Armenian State Symphony Orchestra, working with conductors such as Kazuki Yamada and Hubert Soudant. The Brussels win, combined with the symbolic and practical implications of performing on the “Casals” Goffriller cello for four years, is likely to shape the next phase of his career decisively.

Looking ahead, the next Queen Elisabeth Competition will be for voice, scheduled from 09/09/2027 to 06/02/2027; applications open in November 2026. The 2026 cello edition leaves a strong class of young artists in its wake and a reminder that high‑level competitions still shape careers while engaging broad audiences.

Awards
First prize: Ettore Pagano (23), Berlin
Second prize: Tae-Yeon Kim (20), Philadelphia
Third prize: Leland Ko (28), Boston
Fourth Prize: Alvaro Lozano Cames (20), Malaga
Fifth Prize: Yo Kitamura, (22), Tokyo
Sixth Prize: Maria Zaitseva (25), Moscow

Jury
Gilles Ledure(Chair), Natalie Clein, Roel Dieltiens, Valentin Erben, Ophélie Gaillard, Anne Gastinel, Benjamin Glorieux, Marie Hallynck, Gregor Horsch, Anssi Karttunen, Daniel Müller-Schott, Sharon Robinson, Jan Vogler, Jian Wang, Sonia Wieder-Atherton

Artists
Final: Belgian National Orchestra/ Antony Hermus (Conductor)
Semi-final: Orchestre Royal de Chambre de Wallonie/ Vahan Mardirossian (Conductor)

 © WFIMC 2026 / FR