New York, United States -Augustin Hadelich, a violinist known for his mastery of a diverse solo repertoire, won the inaugural Warner Music Prize aimed at promoting young classical musicians.
The Warner Music Prize, announced last year with backing of the Warner label, comes with $100,000 for an artist between 18 and 35 recognized as an emerging talent.
Hadelich in a statement said he was "overjoyed" to win the prize, calling it "an extraordinary help to me as I continue to build my career."
The 31-year-old violinist, described in a release by the Warner Music Prize as "one of the top violin soloists of his generation," has proven himself to be an expressive interpreter of an array of work ranging from Bach and Beethoven to contemporary fare by British composer Thomas Ades.
His album of concertos by Ades and Sibelius with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic was nominated for a Gramophone Award, a London-based prize generally considered the classical world's most prestigious for recordings.
In a sign of his diverse skills, Hadelich in 2013 also recorded a tango album, "Histoire du Tango," with Spanish classical guitarist Pablo Sainz Villegas.
The son of German parents, Hadelich was born and raised in Italy and has lived since 2004 in New York where he studied at Juilliard and has since taken US citizenship.
In 2006, he won the gold medal in the International Violin Competition of Indianapolis, a major contest that takes place every four years.
Stu Bergen, a senior executive at Warner, described Hadelich as a "dazzling young artist with enormous talent, undeniable charisma and a bright career ahead of him."
The award is open to artists on any label who performed a significant solo at New York's Carnegie Hall in the 2014-2015 season.
Hadelich in December performed Samuel Barber's Violin Concerto at Carnegie Hall, where earlier in the year he premiered the "mystery sonatas" of David Lang, one of the leading living US composers.
The Warner Music Prize winner was selected by a five-person jury that included soprano Deborah Voigt.
The other nominees included violinist Itamar Zorman, cellist Brook Speltz, double bassist Roman Patkolo, harpist Sivan Magen and pianist Behzod Abduraimov.
Also nominated were sopranos Sarah Shafer and Jennifer Zetlan; mezzo-sopranos Jamie Barton, Rachel Calloway, Cecelia Hall, Alisa Kolosova and Peabody Southwell; tenor Dominic Armstrong and bass-baritones Aubrey Allicock and Evan Hughes.
