TWENTY FINALISTS ANNOUNCED FOR THE 17th DONATELLA FLICK LSO CONDUCTING COMPETITION – LSO St Luke’s, London, Tuesday 21 – Thursday 23 March 2023
Twenty competitors from across Europe have been announced for the 17th Donatella Flick LSO Conducting Competition. Internationally recognized as one of the world’s leading conducting competitions, the Donatella Flick LSO Conducting Competition will see twenty competitors compete for the £15,000 prize awarded by Donatella Flick and opportunity to become Assistant Conductor with the London Symphony Orchestra for up to one year.
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The 20 finalists announced come from eleven countries: Austria, Czechia, France, Germany, Greece, Latvia, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Poland, Switzerland and the UK. (Biographies for each of the competitors can be found on the Competition’s website.) As always, competitors will conduct the London Symphony Orchestra and are drawn from the best conductors aged 30 or under who are citizens of the UK; countries having full membership of the European Union; and Norway, Iceland, Lichtenstein or Switzerland.
The winner is awarded £15,000 by Donatella Flick and will have the opportunity to become Assistant Conductor with the London Symphony Orchestra for up to one year. During this time with the LSO the successful conductor will work with the LSO’s Principal and guest conductors on the preparation of concerts, often on the assessment of new scores; take part in the LSO’s education and outreach programme, LSO Discovery; accompany the orchestra on tour and, should the opportunity arise, conduct the LSO in concert.
One of the competitors will also become a Welsh National Opera Associate Conductor for a season, where they will have the opportunity to work with WNO’s Music Director, Tomáš Hanus, as well as on a range of productions, concerts and engagement activity in Cardiff and at some of the Company’s touring venues in Wales and England.
Donatella Flick, Founder of the Competition said: ‘I’m delighted to welcome our 20 conductors to London from across Europe to compete in the latest edition of the Donatella Flick LSO Conducting Competition. They represent the best of an incredible generation who are not only supremely talented but have also shown great resilience and creativity in dealing with the multiple challenges posed by the global pandemic on developing young careers. I salute all of them and look forward to welcoming them to the Competition in March, as well as audiences worldwide who can watch the final round via Medici TV.’
After the first day of competition the Competition’s jury selects ten conductors to go through to the Second Round, and from these three finalists will be chosen for the Final Round.
The 2023 jury consists of: David Alberman (Jury Chair), LSO Principal Second Violin and LSO Chair; Sally Beamish, Composer; Martyn Brabbins, Conductor; Sian Edwards, Conductor; Juliana Koch, LSO Principal Oboe; and Sir Antonio Pappano, LSO’s Chief Conductor Designate.
The final round will be streamed on medici.tv on Thursday 23 March from 7pm, where viewers from around the globe will be able to catch the excitement of the Competition and see the winner announced live. The livestream will be hosted by Gramophone Editor-in-Chief James Jolly.