Ettore Pagano triumphs at the 2026 Queen Elisabeth Competition

Warmest congratulations to Ettore Pagano on his extraordinary victory at the 2026 Queen Elizabeth Competition!

A Stauffer student in the class of Maestro Antonio Meneses, Ettore was awarded First Prize at the Queen Elisabeth Competition, one of the world’s most prestigious and demanding music competitions. In the final round at Bozar in Brussels, he performed Prokofiev’s Symphony-Concerto Op. 125 and Fang Man’s Four Odes to the Tidings of Flowers, a work composed especially for the competition.

With this achievement, Ettore became the first Italian ever to win the Queen Elisabeth Competition, writing a historic chapter in one of the world’s most prestigious music competitions.

We are happy and proud to see, once again, his unique artistic voice, boundless energy and musical sensitivity recognised by one of the world’s most prestigious competitions!