Andrey Lebedev also took the prize for his performance of the commissioned work at Germany’s top music contest.

Australian guitarist Andrey Lebedev has won Third Prize at the ARD International Music Competition in Munich. With no First Prize awarded, the Second Prize went jointly to Junhong Kuang from China and Swiss Italian guitarist Davide Giovanni Tomasi. Lebedev also won the prize for the Best Interpretation of the Commissioned Piece – Interfret für Gitarre by the Slovenian composer Vito Žuraj.

^{Andrey Lebedev}

The ARD is the largest international classical music competition in Germany and has been a fixture on the circuit since 1952 (and held annually for the last 24 years). In the past, the ARD has featured singers, pianists, violinists, violists, brass players and oboists, but this was the first year it was opened up to guitarists. Lebedev was one of 89 participants and the only Australian aside from oboist Zhiyu Xu, who finished unplaced.

“I try not to take competitions too seriously,” the Adelaide-born Lebedev told Limelight following his win. “Competitions are an imperfect medium to encourage artistic excellence, and although they offer golden opportunities for recognition, being a successful...