Finalists Announced at Finland's International Paulo Cello Competition

Six candidates will perform two concerti with orchestra and two solo works over the two-day final

Currently in the final two days of the event, Finland's International Paulo Cello Competition will see six candidates compete for a First Prize award of €20,000.

Each finalist will perform a concerto alongside Finland's Tapiola Sinfonietta, choosing from works by C. P. E. Bach, Luigi Boccherini, and Carlo Graziani. As a compulsory encore, the competitors will also each play the "Preludio" from Penderecki's Suite for Violoncello Solo.

On the second day of the finals, candidates will appear with the Helsinki Philharmonic, and will present a twentieth-century concerto by either Dutilleux, Penderecki, Shostakovich, or the Finnish composer Aulis Sallinen. This program will include a movement from Bach's cello suites as the compulsory encore.

The selected candidates are as follows:

• Samuel Niederhauser
• Woochan Jeong
• Luka Coetzee
• Liav Kerbel
• Gaeun Kim
• Petar Pejčić

In 2023, the jury comprises Arto Noras, Richard Aaron, Frans Helmerson, Hyoung Won Chang, Maria Kliegel, Ivan Monighetti, Philippe Muller, Martti Rousi, and Tsuyoshi Tsustumi.

The previous winners of the International Paulo Cello Competition are Xavier Phillips (1991), Hai-Ye Ni (1996), Enrico Bronzi (2002), Andreas Brantelid (2007), Kian Soltani (2013), and Brandon Cho (2018). The Artistic Director of the Competition is Professor Arto Noras.