The 22-year-old Italian cellist Ettore Pagano, winner of the ICMA Classeek Award 2025, has been awarded the Premio Franco Abbiati, the Italian music critics’ prize for ‘Best Soloist 2024’.

Pagano was also awarded the ‘Una vita nella musica Giovani 2025’ prize at a concert at the Teatro La Fenice in Venice on April 5. The Una Vita nella Musica 2025 prize was awarded to Rudolf Buchbinder.

Ettore Pagano performed Krzysztof Penderecki’s Divertimento for Cello and György Ligeti’s Sonata for Cello at the award ceremony.