Italian musician Ettore Pagano has been crowned the winner of the 2026 Queen Elisabeth Competition, receiving a check for €25,000 and numerous concert engagements in Belgium and abroad. In an additional prize celebrating the 75th anniversary of the prestigious contest, the 23-year-old is being loaned the Goffriller “Casals” cello by the Pau Casals Foundation. The laureates were proclaimed by the president of the jury, Gilles Ledure late on Saturday evening following the last two performances by the 12 finalists. Second prize went to Tae-Yeon Kim,
20, from South Korea, who also won the audience-selected Klara Prize, and American-Canadian Leland Ko, 27, received the third prize. Spaniard Álvaro Lozano Cames was awarded the RTBF Musiq3 Prize following a public vote and will perform at the Festival Musiq3 in Flagey. He was placed in fourth position, while Yo Kitamura from Japan and Maria Zaitseva from the Russia Federation were fifth and sixth, respectively. The final of the keenly-followed competition took place in the presence of Queen Mathilde, honorary president of the competition.
If Pagano, who played the Prokofiev cello concerto in the final, was one of the leading contenders for the top prize, the laureates of the marathon competition are notoriously difficult to predict. French cellist Anne Gastinel who was on the jury told RTBF: “I think we all had a very difficult time choosing between them this year; we had some truly exceptional talents.” Speaking after the announcement, Pagano said: “When I went on stage, I didn’t know what to feel, what to think. It was
just a dream. It’s a moment when you feel that your body isn’t really yours, but now I’m slowly starting to realize it! I probably won’t sleep tonight.” Loan of Casals’ cello The cello now on loan to Pagano for four years comes with an illustrious provenance. Made by Venetian luthier Matteo Goffriler in 1733, it was acquired by the legendary Spanish cellist Pablo Casals in Paris in 1908. It was to be his primary instrument for more than 60 years until his death in
1973, “his dearest friend,” and it was preferred over the Stradivarius instruments that were offered to him. The decision by the Pau Casals Foundation to loan the cello honours the close friendship between the cellist and the competition’s namesake, Queen Elisabeth of Belgium. This year is the 150th anniversary of her birth, as well as the 75th edition of the competition. Imposed work The month-long competition is a famously arduous experience for the young musicians. During the final week, the 12 finalists were cloistered in
the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel in Waterloo where they learned and practiced imposed commissioned work, Four Odes to the Tidings of Flowers, by Fang Man. The Chinese-born American composer, who is known for her innovative music blending Eastern and Western traditions, was impressed by the finalists’ renditions. She had added an interesting variation to the piece that consisted of four movements, each dedicated to a specific seasonal flower. The musicians were given carte blanche to perform the movements in their preferred order. This was the
third Queen Elisabeth Competition dedicated to the cello since it was founded in 1937. Each year is devoted to one of four disciplines – piano, violin, voice, cello – with the voice coming under the spotlight in 2027. Upcoming concerts The finalists now participate in a series of concerts around the country. They kick off with recitals at Flagey by the unranked laureates on 3 June, and by the 4th, 5th and 6th laureates on 4 June. These concerts are followed by the 4th, 5th
and 6th laureates performing with the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Shiyeon Sung, at the Concertgebouw in Bruges on 6 June, at the Queen Elisabeth Hall in Antwerp on 7 June, and Bozar on 8 June. The Queen Elisabeth Competition closes with a final concert by the 1st, 2nd and 3rd laureates performing with the Brussels Philharmonic, directed by Samy Rachid, at Bozar on 10 June. The first three laureates also perform in concerts in Leuven, Hasselt, Bruges, Charleroi and Saint-Vith. Photos: (main image) First
prize winner Ettore Pagano ©Alexandre de Terwangne; Pagano performing in the final ©Thomas Léonard; Queen Elisabeth with Casals ©QEC; 2026 final ©QEC
Queen Elisabeth Competition 2026, Ettore Pagano, cello winner, Gilles Ledure, Queen Mathilde, Goffriller Casals cello, Pau Casals Foundation, Tae-Yeon Kim, Klara Prize, Leland Ko, RTBF Musiq3 Prize, Álvaro Lozano Cames, Yo Kitamura, Maria Zaitseva, Fang Man, Four Odes to the Tidings of Flowers, Waterloo, Flagey, Bozar