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Russian pianist Denis Kozhukhin, 23, was proclaimed the winner of the prestigious Queen Elisabeth International Music Competition on Saturday night, after a week of suspense.
He is currently studying chamber music in Madrid and is enrolled at the International Academy on Lake Como as well as the Hochschule fur Musik in Stuttgart, according to the competition’s website.
As well as his native Russia, he has already given performances in Germany at the Ruhr piano festival, in France, Switzerland and Spain.
He came third in the annual Leeds International competition in 2006 and won the Vendome Prize in Lisbon in 2009.
Second place went to Bulgarian Evgeni Bozhanov, 26, and third place to Dutch national Hannes Minnar, 25.
A total of 63 contestants entered, 28 women and 35 men, representing 19 nationalities.