For the First Time in History, a Ukrainian Violinist Wins the Queen Elisabeth Competition

On the evening of June 1st, the winners of one of the most prestigious international music competitions – the Queen Elisabeth Competition – were announced in the Belgian capital, Brussels. For the first time in history, a Ukrainian – violinist Dmytro Udovychenko – won the competition, as reported on the event's official Facebook page.

Dmytro Udovychenko performed brilliantly throughout all rounds of the competition. In the final, which coincided with his 25th birthday, the Ukrainian musician played Dmitri Shostakovich's First Violin Concerto, which lasted about 40 minutes. This piece is considered quite challenging to perform, and it is usually played by experienced masters and virtuoso violinists. For his victory, the Ukrainian received a prize of 25,000 euros.

It is worth noting that at the awards ceremony, Dmytro Udovychenko demonstratively refused to shake hands with one of the jury members – Russian musician Vadim Repin, who supported Russia's aggressive war against Ukraine in 2022.

Dmytro Udovychenko began his studies at the Kharkiv Music Lyceum and later continued in leading German music institutions. He has been a laureate of many prestigious music awards. Notably, the Ukrainian musician took 2nd place in 2018 at the Joseph Joachim Competition, 3rd place at the Jean Sibelius Competition in 2022, and 1st place at the Singapore International Violin Competition that same year.

The Queen Elisabeth Competition has been held in Brussels since 1951. It features academic musicians from various countries who play different instruments. The competition is named in honour of Queen Elisabeth of Belgium, who sponsored its creation, and it is now overseen by Queen Mathilde of Belgium.