International Telekom Beethoven Competition Bonn Names 2023 Winner

The 20-year-old American pianist Caleb Borick has won first place and a €50,000 cash prize

The biennial International Telekom Beethoven Competition Bonn (ITBCB) is open to pianists worldwide aged under 33. This year’s edition was held from November 30 to December 10, 2023. 

American pianist Caleb Borick won both the audience prize and the jury prize of €50,000, after his performance of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 3 with the Beethoven Orchestra Bonn and conductor Dirk Kaftan.

In addition to the concerto prize, Borick received the competition’s contemporary prize, the chamber music prize, plus a 10-concert tour with the Bonn Philharmonie Orchestra. 

Lovre Marušić from Croatia won second place with €25,000 and Chinese pianist Zhouhui Shen received third prize with €10,000. All three winners will receive concert engagements, including at the Beethovenfest Bonn.

The finalists were selected from an initial pool of 24 candidates for the competition by a panel of internationally acclaimed pianists. 

The jury comprised Ya-Fei Chuang, Fumiko Eguchi, Gábor Farkas, Andreas Groethuysen, Konstantin Scherbakov, Soo-Jung Shin, Zhe Tang, and Arie Vardi; Pavel Gililov served as jury president. 

“[The finalists] brought the ITBCB to a splendid conclusion last night,” the competition page posted on Facebook. “The impressive game and endurance of these three finalists deserve the highest recognition. Congratulations everyone!”