Jayden King, an 11-year-old American violinist, won First Prize at the Enescu Competition and became the youngest laureate in the competition’s history

American violinist Jayden King, aged 11, won First Prize in the Violin Section at the 2026 George Enescu International Competition, becoming the youngest winner in the history of the competition. The result was announced after the final held on Sunday at the Romanian Athenaeum in Bucharest.

In the final, Jayden King performed Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Concerto in D major for violin and orchestra, Op. 35, alongside the “George Enescu” Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Harry Ogg. He also received the Audience Award, as well as the distinction for the best performance of the commissioned work “Still Life with Fallen Stone” by Lembit Beecher.

Second Prize went to Italy’s Francesco Papa, while Third Prize went to South Korea’s Eun Che Kim. Francesco Papa also received the “Ștefan and Valentin Gheorghiu” Prize for performing a sonata by George Enescu, while Iohan Coman was recognized as the highest-ranked Romanian.

First Prize in the section is worth 15,000 euros. The competition continues until September 19, with the stage dedicated to the Piano Section. The 2026 edition attracted 819 applications from 58 countries and territories.