Awarded by the Citizens for Beethoven association, the ring recognises a young artist who performed a Beethoven work at Bonn’s Beethovenfest
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Japanese cellist Michiaki Ueno has been awarded the 2024 Beethoven Ring. The annual prize is given by the Citizens for Beethoven association in Bonn, Germany. He receives a handcrafted ring made of 18-carat rose gold and sterling silver.
Founded in 2004, the award recognises a promising young artist who has performed a Beethoven work during Bonn’s Beethovenfest. It is intended to promote the composer’s music and memory in his city of birth. The most recent string player to win the award was cellist Julia Hagen in 2022.
Other notable recipients include Gustavo Dudamel, who received the inaugural ring, as well as Julia Fischer, Lisa Batiashvili, Ragnhild Hemsing and Nicolas Altstaedt.
Born in Paraguay in 1995, Ueno moved to Japan to make his debut at Suntory Hall playing the Lalo Cello Concerto aged 11. He won first prizes at the International Tchaikovsky Competition for Young Musicians, Romanian International Music Competition, International Johannes Brahms Competition and, most notably, the 2021 Concours de Genève.
He has studied under Hakuro Mogri and Pieter Wispelwey, as well as Gary Hoffman and Jeroen Reuling during his time as artist-in-residence at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel. He has also attended masterclasses by Steven Isserlis and Frans Helmerson.
As a soloist, Ueno has played with the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Warsaw Philharmonic, KBS Symphony Orchestra and NHK Symphony Orchestra. As a chamber musician he has performed with artists such as Martha Argerich, Mischa Maisky, Jean-Guihen Queyras and Augustin Dumay.
Ueno recorded his debut album, featuring the complete Bach Cello Suites, at the age of 26. It was nominated for an Opus Klassik Award. He plays on a Paolo Antonio Testore, which is loaned from the Munetsugu Collection. He is also supported by the Rohm Music Foundation and Ezoe Memorial Recruit Foundation.
Read: Michiaki Ueno wins Geneva Cello Competition
Read: Cellist Julia Hagen receives 2022 Beethoven Ring Award
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