Michiaki Ueno won the top prize in the cello division of the Geneva International Music Competition on Thursday, the organizers said, becoming the first Japanese cellist to receive the award.
The 25-year-old was awarded 20,000 Swiss francs ($22,000) for claiming first prize, while Bryan Cheng of Canada, 24, and Jaemin Han of South Korea, 15, ranked second and third in the competition, respectively.
"I was happy enough I was able to play a piece I love, but it is great the result turned out to be good," said Ueno, who currently studies at the Robert Schumann Hochschule Dusseldorf, a music university in Germany.