Benjamin Kruithof

Winner of the George Enescu International Competition (2022), Benjamin Kruithof’s prize-winning performance of the Dvořák Cello Concerto was praised as being “noble, singing, beautiful” (Bachtrack).

In 2020, Benjamin took the First Prize, the Audience Award and the prize for best interpretation of the commissioned work at the “Cello Biennale Competition” in Amsterdam. His other competition successes include prizes at the Pablo Casals International Award in Spain (special award), the Gabrielli Competition in Berlin (second prize), the Anne and Françoise Groben Grand Prix in Luxembourg (first prize and audience award), the Flame Competition in Paris (first prize and special prize) and the Leopold Bellan International Competition in Paris (first prize and audience award), as well as the International Knopf competition in Düsseldorf.

In July 2023, Benjamin was announced as a European Concert Hall Organisation (ECHO) Rising Star artist for the 2024/25 season, having been nominated by Concertgebouw Amsterdam and Philharmonie du Luxembourg. The programme will see him perform on some of Europe’s most renowned stages, as well as engaging in outreach activities, bespoke commissions for new music and other opportunities for professional development through customised workshops and mentorship schemes.

As a soloist, recent and forthcoming highlights for Benjamin include performances with the Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra, George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra, Luxembourg Chamber Orchestra, Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie Herford, Liechtenstein Symphony Orchestra and the East-West Chamber Orchestra at the Enescu Festival. 

In recital, he has performed at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Gasteig in Munich, Kings Place in London and the Salle Cortot in Paris.

An active chamber musician, Benjamin has participated in various chamber music academies such as the Seiji Ozawa Academy (2021, 2022), Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Grachtenfestival Amsterdam, Krzyzowa Music (2023) and the Enescu Festival.

In summer 2023 he was awarded the public prize of the “Junge Elite” programme at the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern festival. Later that year,  renowned violinist Janine Jansen invited Benjamin to her December chamber music festival in Utrecht, where he performed with her and other well-known artists including Denis Kozhukhin, Jens-Peter Maintz and Sunwook Kim.

In February 2020 he recorded his first CD titled “Russian Mood” with the Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie Herford orchestra for the label Ars Production. This recording earned him a nomination in four categories of the “OPUS KLASSIK 2022”.

Benjamin Kruithof was born in Luxembourg into a family of musicians and started playing the cello at the age of five at the "Conservatoire du Nord" with Raju Vidali. In recent years he has studied with professors such as Mirel Iancovici (Conservatorium Maastricht) and Maria Kliegel (HfMT Cologne). Since 2017, Benjamin has been a student of Prof. Jens-Peter Maintz at the University of the Arts in Berlin. 

Benjamin Kruithof received key additional musical training at the International Music Academy in Liechtenstein and at the Kronberg Masterclasses (2018).

He currently plays a precious 18th-century instrument made by the Italian violin maker G.B. Guadagnini, which is on loan from Berlin University of the Arts. In addition, he plays a Testore cello loaned to him by the “Deutsche Stiftung Musikleben”.

Benjamin Kruithof has been studying at Kronberg Academy with Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt since October 2024.