Fujikura, 30, was born in Osaka, Japan and moved to London at 15; there he studied at the Trinity College of Music with Daryl Runswick, the Royal College of Music with Edwin Roxburgh, and King's College London with George Benjamin.

His honors include first prize at the International Composers' Competition in 1998, the 2004 Royal Philharmonic Composition Prize and the Internationaler Wiener Composition Prize (Claudio Abbado composition award) in 2005.

The Ensemble Modern, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Ensemble Intercontemporain, Vienna Radio Orchestra and the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, among others, have commissioned or premiered Fujikura's work. Next year will see the premieres of a piano concerto by the Philharmonia Orchestra with pianist Noriko Ogawa, an ensemble work for the New York-based I.C.E., and a duo for cello and bassoon to be recorded by Rohan de Saram and Pascal Gallois.

The annual Paul Hindemith Prize was established in 1990 by the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival with financial support from the Swiss Hindemith, Rudolf and Erika Koch, Walter and K‹the Busche, and Gerhard Trede Foundations.