Japanese pianists win 2nd, 5th prizes at Queen Elisabeth Competition
BRUSSELS (Kyodo) -- Japanese pianists Wataru Hisasue and Masaya Kamei won the second and fifth prizes, respectively, at the Queen Elisabeth Competition, a prestigious contest for international musicians held in Brussels.
The organizers announced the results after the final round ended Saturday in the Belgian capital. First prize went to Nikola Meeuwsen of the Netherlands.
Hisasue, a 30-year-old from Shiga Prefecture in western Japan, is currently studying under Klaus Hellwig, a professor of piano at the Berlin University of the Arts. Especially interested in the music of the 20th and 21st centuries, he has performed in both Europe and Japan, according to the organizers.
"I am in disbelief. I thought I would become nervous, but I was able to enjoy performing as I tried not to have any regrets," he said.
Kamei, 23, from Aichi Prefecture in central Japan, said he was able to "deliver my own music."
Of the 12 pianists in the final, four were Japanese. Hisasue and Kamei both performed on Saturday.
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