Semi-Finalists Announced for 2022 Queen Elisabeth International Cello Competition

Established in 1937 by Eugène Ysaÿe and Queen Elisabeth, the prestigious competition is held in Belgium and alternates each year between candidates in violin, piano, cello, and voice.

The first edition of the cello section was introduced in 2017, and the 2022 edition will see talented cellists compete from May 9 through June 4.

The 2022 semi-finalists include:

• Riana Anthony
• James Baik
• Yibai Chen
• Bryan Cheng
• Hayoung Choi
• Jeremias Fliedl
• Anouchka  Hack
• Constantin Heise
• Stéphanie Huang
• Woochan Jeong
• Min Ji Kim
• Marcel Johannes Kits
• Keisuke Morita
• Taeguk Mun
• Samuel Niederhauser
• Petar Pejcic
• Erica Piccotti
• Florian Pons
• Ivan Sendetskiy
• Oleksiy Shadrin
• Anton Spronk
• Simon Tetzlaff
• Ella van Poucke
• Sul Yoon

The semi-final round, to be held from May 16 to 21, will feature each competitor performing a commissioned work as well as a Haydn cello concerto with the Orchestre Royal de Chambre de Wallonie and conductor Vahan Mardirossian.

The final round will be hosted at the Centre for Fine Arts in Brussels on May 30. Each finalist will perform a commissioned work, a commissioned concerto for the competition, and a major cello concerto with conductor Stéphane Denève and the Brussels Philharmonic.

The 2022 jury includes Chairman of the jury Gilles Ledure, Gautier Capuçon, Myung-Wha Chung, Natalie Clein, Roel Dieltiens, Anne Gastinel, Marie Hallynck, Frans Helmerson, Anssi Karttunen, Mischa Maisky, Antonio Meneses, Sharon Robinson, Jian Wang, and Sonia Wieder-Atherton.

Former prize winners include VC Artists Aurélien Pascal, Ivan Karizna, Brannon Cho, and Santiago Cañón-Valencia.

Amidst the ongoing war in Ukraine, the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition and the Queen Elisabeth Competition will allow Russian pianists to compete.