Rose Cello Competition

German cellist Wolfgang Schmidt won a third prize last weekend at the International Leonard Rose Cello Competition, which is held every four years in the vicinity of Washington, D.C. At first glance, a third prize looks like an impressive success for Schmidt. Hosted by the University of Maryland in the Washington suburb of College Park, the competition is considered the most important cello contest in the United States. This year, it attracted participants from 20 different countries. However, the pressure on Schmidt to succeed was enormous, as German candidates scored extremely high four years ago. In 1993, five Germans went into the competition, each of them reached the semi finals, and at the end, they took a first and a third prize. Wolfgang Schmidt was one of the five German participants, but he didn't make it into the finals. This year he was rumored to be a gold medal candidate, but even if this expectation was not fulfilled, Schmidt doesn't have to worry about his future, as Georg Hirsch reports.

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