Three Finalists to conduct the London Symphony Orchestra in a public
concert at the
Barbican on 2 October 2008
The biennial Donatella Flick Conducting Competition is now established
as one of the major international
competitions for young conductors in Europe. In association with the London Symphony
Orchestra, the next
competition takes place from 30 September - 2 October 2008. The final on 2 October
will be a public concert in
which the three selected finalists conduct the London Symphony Orchestra at the
Barbican; the winner is
selected by the distinguished international jury and announced at the end of
the concert.
Chaired by broadcaster and music writer Martin Cotton,
this year’s distinguished international jury will include
renowned conductor Paul Daniel CBE, legendary Russian conductor Gennadi
Rozhdestvensky, LSO Principal
Clarinet Andrew Marriner and Mauro Bucarelli,
Secretary of the artistic programme, Accademia Nazionale di
Santa Cecilia, Rome.
The Donatella Flick Conducting Competition, created by Donatella Flick in 1990,
aims to help a young conductor
establish an international conducting career. Entries are invited from candidates
under the age of 35 who are
citizens of countries now having full membership of the European Union. In 1996
a unique partnership was
established with the LSO and the winner of the competition is offered, in addition
to £15,000, the opportunity to
become Assistant Conductor of the LSO for up to one year following the competition.
During this period, the
winner works with the LSO’s Principal and Guest Conductors on the preparation
of concerts and may be asked to
help with the assessment of new scores, take part in the LSO’s education
programme, LSO Discovery,
accompany the orchestra on tour and, should the opportunity arise, to conduct
the LSO in concert.
A full competition brochure and entry form is now available and applications
must be received by 17 April 2008.
From those received, twenty candidates will be selected to appear before an international
jury. In the early
rounds on 30 September and 1 October 2008 these candidates will conduct the Guildhall
School of Music &
Drama Orchestra in repertoire to include extracts from works by Mozart, Beethoven,
Tippett, Mendelssohn,
Haydn and Tansy Davies. In the final concert, candidates will conduct Verdi’s
Overture: La Forza del Destino and
one of the following, to be drawn by lot – Brahms’ Variations
on the St Anthony Chorale, Ravel’s Daphnis and
Chloe, Suite No 2 and Wagner’s Morgendämmerung,Siegfrieds
Rheinfahrt und Trauermusik (Götterdämmerung).
Candidates are initially required to submit performances on DVD, together with
professional letters of
recommendation and any additional relevant supporting information (e.g. press
reviews).
The Patron of the Donatella Flick Conducting Competition is HRH The Prince of
Wales and members of the
distinguished Committee of Honour are Salvatore Accardo; Lord Birkett; Riccardo
Chailly; Sir Colin Davis; Valery
Gergiev; Sir Ronald Grierson; Evgeny Kissin; Carlo Majer; Sir Neville Marriner,
CBE; Antonio Pappano; Maurizio
Pollini; Carlo Rizzi; Gennadi Rozhdestvensky, Yuri Temirkanov; Maxim Vengerov.
Previous winners of the Competition are now pursuing international careers: Paul
Mann (1998 winner) is
Principal Conductor of the Odense Symphony Orchestra and has conducted major
orchestras across the world.
Francois-Xavier Roth, the 2000 joint winner, is now
a regular conductor with the LSO, is Associate Conductor of
the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Principal Guest Conductor of the
Navarra Symphony Orchestra
and Music Director of Les Siècles. Christophe Mangou (2002
winner) has been working with orchestras around
the world, conducting family concerts with the LSO as well as the Orchestre National
d’Île de France. He has also
created his own ensemble, ‘Amalgammes’ that uses improvised conducting
in composition. Fabien Gabel (2004)
conducts the LSO in schools concerts, and future engagements include Orchestre
Philharmonique de Strasbourg
and Orchestre National d’Île de France. Michal Dworzynski,
the most recent winner (2006) continues his
position as the LSO’s Assistant Conductor and has worked closely with both
the LSO’s President Sir Colin Davis
and LSO Principal Conductor Valery Gergiev on the preparation of scores, taking
rehearsals and has conducted
the LSO in concert to critical acclaim. In 2008 he will also conduct the LPO,
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra,
Beethoven Academy in Cracow and Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra, South Africa.
For further information regarding the Donatella
Flick Conducting Competition please contact:
The Administrator, Donatella Flick Conducting Competition, PO Box 34227, London
NW5 1XP
For further press information please contact:
Dvora Lewis Public Relations
Tel: 020 7435 9257, Fax: 020 7435 1417, Email: dlpr@dvoralewis.com
