Ukrainian violinist wins prestigious Queen Elisabeth Competition in Belgium

Ukrainian violinist Dmytro Udovychenko was announced as the winner, in the violin category, of the internationally renowned Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels on June 2.

A graduate of the Kharkiv Music Lyceum, Udovychenko also studied under prominent teachers in Germany and won several international competitions, including the Josef Joachim, Jean Sibelius, and Singapore International Violin Competitions.

He delivered exceptional performances in all competition rounds, culminating with Dmitri Shostakovich's Violin Concerto No. 1 in the final, on his 25th birthday.

Ukrainians have previously achieved notable placements in this competition, with Oleksii Semenenko winning the Second Prize for violinists in 2015 and cellist Oleksii Shadrin securing the Fourth Prize in 2022.

However, Udovychenko’s victory marks the first time a Ukrainian violinist has won the Queen Elisabeth Competition, earning a 25,000 euro ($27,100) prize.

US philanthropist to fund the restoration of Kharkiv’s printing house, destroyed by Russia

Under favorable conditions, the printing house is expected to be restored in four or five months, said Serhii Polituchyi, the Faktor Druk printing plant owner.

The Kyiv IndependentKateryna Denisova