2026 · Queen Elisabeth Competition: Cello 2026 (Live)
Ligeti
Sonata for Solo Cello
Solo
Cellist
Dilshod
Narzillaev
© 2026 Dilshod NarzillaevWatch
Great elegance and calm, without losing intensity.
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Biography
The first Uzbek musician to reach the Queen Elisabeth final.
Dilshod was named a laureate of the 2026 Queen Elisabeth Cello Competition, playing Shostakovich’s First Concerto with the Belgian National Orchestra under Antony Hermus. In a review of his final performance, La Libre, a Belgian newspaper, wrote of his lyricism and naturalness. Following the competition, he received the “Devotee of Culture and Art” Medal of Honour from Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Culture, for his contribution to his country’s culture and its standing abroad.
Born in Navoi, Dilshod began playing the cello at the age of ten with Djakhongir Ibragimov at the Glière Lyceum in Tashkent. He then went on to study with Daniel Veis at the International Center for Music at Park University and with Laurence Lesser at the New England Conservatory. Since 2025, Dilshod has been an artist-in-residence at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel, studying with Gary Hoffman.
Dilshod has appeared as a soloist with the Boston Pops Orchestra at Symphony Hall, the National and State Orchestras of Uzbekistan, the Kansas City Chamber Orchestra and the Croatian Radio-Television Symphony Orchestra. He was awarded First Prize at the NEC/Tufts Boston Pops Concerto Competition and Fourth Prize at the Antonio Janigro International Cello Competition. In 2021, Dilshod was awarded the Nihol presidential prize for young artists of Uzbekistan.
In addition to these accomplishments, Dilshod is an active chamber musician. He has participated in numerous chamber music festivals, including Music@Menlo, Prussia Cove and the Perlman Music Program. In 2027 he returns to Marlboro Music for a third season.
Concerts
Gallery
Repertoire examples
- Hofmann — Concerto in D major
- Haydn — Concerto no. 1 in C major, Hob. VIIb:1
- Haydn — Concerto no. 2 in D major, Hob. VIIb:2
- Tchaikovsky — Variations on a Rococo Theme, op. 33
- Shostakovich — Concerto no. 1 in E flat major, op. 107
- Saint-Saëns — Concerto no. 1 in A minor, op. 33
- Schumann — Concerto in A minor, op. 129
- Dvořák — Concerto in B minor, op. 104
- Prokofiev — Sinfonia concertante, op. 125
- J. C. Bach — Concerto in C minor
- Bach — Viola da gamba Sonata no. 3 in G minor, BWV 1029
- Rachmaninov — Sonata in G minor, op. 19
- Poulenc — Sonata
- Debussy — Sonata in D minor
- Shostakovich — Sonata in D minor, op. 40
- Prokofiev — Sonata in C major, op. 119
- Brahms — Sonata no. 1 in E minor, op. 38
- Brahms — Sonata no. 2 in F major, op. 99
- Ligeti — Sonata for Solo Cello
- Cassadó — Suite for Solo Cello
- Schumann — Piano Quartet in E flat, op. 47
- Mozart — Piano Quartet in G minor, K. 478
- Brahms — Piano Quartet in G minor, op. 25
- Brahms — Piano Trio no. 3 in C minor, op. 101
- Dvořák — Piano Trio in F minor, op. 65
- Ravel — Piano Trio
- Dvořák — Piano Quintet no. 2 in A, op. 81
- Brahms — Piano Quintet in F minor, op. 34
- Dohnányi — Piano Quintet no. 1 in C minor, op. 1
- Franck — Piano Quintet in F minor
- Dohnányi — String Trio
- Mozart — String Quartet in E flat, K. 428
- Beethoven — String Quartet op. 59 no. 1
- Beethoven — String Quartet op. 59 no. 2
- Bartók — String Quartet no. 3
- Ravel — String Quartet
- Arensky — Quartet no. 2 in A minor, op. 35
- Brahms — Sextet no. 1 in B flat, op. 18
- Brahms — Sextet no. 2 in G, op. 36
- Shostakovich — String Quartet no. 3, op. 73
- Schubert — String Quintet in C, D. 956
- Tchaikovsky — Souvenir de Florence, op. 70
Chamber music
The cello spends most of its life as an integral part of a large variety of ensembles, and for Dilshod Narzillaev this is no exception. He is an artist at the Marlboro Music Festival, returning each summer since 2025, and has appeared at Music@Menlo, the International Musicians Seminar at Prussia Cove, the Kronberg Academy, the Perlman Music Program, the Four Seasons Chamber Music Festival, iPalpiti, Fontainebleau and the Heifetz International Music Institute.
At Menlo he played Mozart’s G major Quartet, K. 387, and Fauré’s First Piano Quartet. His recording of Stravinsky’s Suite italienne with the pianist Nadia Varga Modrić was released in 2022.
He has performed alongside Itzhak Perlman, Gilbert Kalish, Kim Kashkashian, Ani Kavafian and members of the Borromeo String Quartet.
Teaching
Teaching
Dilshod Narzillaev teaches privately, in person and online, and has given masterclasses in Uzbekistan. He spent a summer on the faculty of the Vivace International Festival in North Carolina. He welcomes enquiries from cellists at any stage. Please use the form and he will reply directly.
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