Jae Min Han
South Korean cellist Jaemin Han, 15, won First Prize of the cello section of the 2020/2021 George Enescu International Competition. Sebastian Fritsch, from Germany, ranked second, while Romanian Ștefan Cazacu took the third place.
Aged 15, Han is the youngest winner in the history of the Enescu Competition, the organizers said. He registered in the competition when he was 14. In the finals, he performed Shostakovich’s Cello Concerto No. 1, accompanied by the George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Nicolas Altstaedt.
David Geringas was the president of the cello jury, which included Myung-Wha Chung, Leonid Gorokhov, Alexandra Guțu, Frans Helmerson, Arto Noras, Jérôme Pernoo, Meehae Ryo, Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi, and Raphael Wallfisch.
The George Enescu Competition held its first rounds last year online, because of the pandemic. The semifinals and finals were held in Bucharest with an audience.
