A fortepiano victory for Russian musician

Russian pianist Denis Kozhukhin has won the top honors at one of the most prestigious music contests in the world – the Queen Elisabeth Music Competition in Belgium.

Apart from winning the coveted first prize, €25,000, the 24-year-old Russian pianist has also picked up an award from the public, which is 10 times smaller than the first one (€2500).

One of the oldest music contests in the world, the Queen Elisabeth Competition is aimed at highlighting young artists competing in such categories as piano, singing and violin.

Traditionally, the piano field has been regarded to be one of the hardest challenges for promising musicians, with its closest rivals being The International Tchaikovsky and Frederic Chopin competitions.