Paris: Two Japanese violinists won prizes in the Long-Thibaud International Competition, known as a gateway to success for young musicians, in Paris on Sunday.

Koshiro Takeuchi, 18, a third-year high school student from Tokyo, ended third, and Miyu Kitsuwa, 22, a graduate student from Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, ranked fifth. The first prize went to Ukraine’s Bohdan Luts, 18.

After the awarding ceremony, Takeuchi said he was “very honored to be able to win a prize in the prestigious competition.”

Kitsuwa said, “This was such an inspirational learning experience, to be able to participate in the competition with other amazing musicians in the same generation as mine from all over the world.”

In the competition, 106 candidates from 32 countries participated this year.

In the finals, Takeuchi played Brahms’s Violin Concerto, and Kitsuwa performed Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto.

JIJI Press