European Union Youth Orchestra Davos 2020

The European Union Youth Orchestra (EUYO) is a youth orchestra with members drawn from the 27 members states of the European Union. Since its foundation in 1976, it has connected music colleges and the professional music world for generations of European musicians. EUYO is considered one of the best youth orchestras in the world, achieving "extraordinarily high standards" and playing at all major European festivals, including the Proms, the Salzburg Festival, and Young Euro Classic. EUYO is an associated member of the European Federation of National Youth Orchestras and is supported by the Creative Europe programme.

Activities

EUYO is open to all EU citizens between the ages of 16 and 26 for audition. Each year, it recruits around 120 members and 120 reserves from around 2,000 to 3,000 auditionees. Members spend 2–3 years in the orchestra on average, and over 90% of its former members have become professional musicians. EUYO organizes spring and summer residencies every year, each followed by a tour. The spring residency begins with a 2–3 week residency at the orchestra's base in

Ferrara Ferrara (, ; egl, Fràra ) is a city and ''comune'' in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital of the Province of Ferrara. it had 132,009 inhabitants. It is situated northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main stream ...

. The summer residencies are based in Grafenegg and Bolzano and begin with a 3-week rehearsal period.

History

EUYO was founded by Joy and

Lionel Bryer Lionel Bryer (14 June 1928 – 3 November 2006) was a South African- British youth arts promoter. He was co-founder of the International Youth Foundation which developed the European Union Youth Orchestra and the International Festival of Youth ...

in 1976 as the '' European Community Youth Orchestra'' (ECYO), following a resolution adopted by the European Parliament. Claudio Abbado served as the orchestra's founding director. In 1994, the orchestra was renamed European Union Youth Orchestra (EUYO), following the Maastricht Treaty that established the European Union. By 2013, the orchestra had performed in every country of the European Union. In 2014, EUYO launched the ''Towards 2020'' (T2020) project, aiming to change the face of classical music in Europe by training young musicians to engage with 21st century audiences.

Imminent closure

On 12 May 2016, EUYO announced that was to cease operations from September 2016 due to a lack of future funding from the European Union. However, the news attracted extensive support around Europe, where campaigns and flash mobs took place and many conductors and artists including Antonio Pappano, Gustavo Dudamel and

Daniel Barenboim Daniel Barenboim (; in he, דניאל בארנבוים, born 15 November 1942) is an Argentine-born classical pianist and conductor based in Berlin. He has been since 1992 General Music Director of the Berlin State Opera and "Staatskapellmeist ...

put their names to a statement supporting the Orchestra's work. On 31 May 2016, an official press announcement from the

Council of Ministers A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or natio ...

and European Commission confirmed that Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker had ordered three commissioners to find funding for EUYO. On 1 June 2016, Juncker announced a proposal to enable the European Union to return EUYO to core funding.

Relocation to Italy and Brexit

The orchestra announced in October 2017 that, as a result of Brexit, it intended to relocate from London to Italy. It was therefore initially expected that British youths would cease to be eligible for the institution. EUYO moved to

, Italy during the course of 2018. Its current headquarters is the opera house Teatro Comunale Claudio Abbado located in the centre of the city. Since the

Brexit transition period The Brexit withdrawal agreement, officially titled Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community, is a treaty between the European Uni ...

expired on 31 December 2020, members from the United Kingdom are no longer eligible to apply.

Relocation to Austria

On 5 December 2022, the orchestra announced that it would move its administrative home to Grafenegg and Vienna, Austria, from the beginning of 2023.

People

Since the orchestra's inception, there have been four principal conductors: * 1976–1994: Claudio Abbado * 1994–2000: Bernard Haitink * 2000–2015: Vladimir Ashkenazy * since 2015: Vasily Petrenko EUYO has also worked with guest conductors including

Leonard Bernstein Leonard Bernstein ( ; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was the first America ...

, Herbert Blomstedt, James Conlon,

Colin Davis Sir Colin Rex Davis (25 September 1927 – 14 April 2013) was an English conductor, known for his association with the London Symphony Orchestra, having first conducted it in 1959. His repertoire was broad, but among the composers with whom h ...

, Antal Doráti,

Carlo Maria Giulini Carlo Maria Giulini (; 9 May 1914 – 14 June 2005) was an Italian conductor. From the age of five, when he began to play the violin, Giulini's musical education was expanded when he began to study at Italy's foremost conservatory, the Conserva ...

, Iván Fischer, Herbert von Karajan, Rafael Kubelík, Erich Leinsdorf,

Lorin Maazel Lorin Varencove Maazel (, March 6, 1930 – July 13, 2014) was an American conductor, violinist and composer. He began conducting at the age of eight and by 1953 had decided to pursue a career in music. He had established a reputation in th ...

, Zubin Mehta, Gianandrea Noseda,

Kurt Sanderling Kurt Sanderling, CBE (; 19 September 1912 – 18 September 2011) was a German conductor. Sanderling was born in Arys, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire (now Orzysz, Poland), to Jewish parents. His early work at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, whe ...

, Gennady Rozhdestvensky,

Mstislav Rostropovich Mstislav Leopoldovich Rostropovich, (27 March 192727 April 2007) was a Russian cellist and conductor. He is considered by many to be the greatest cellist of the 20th century. In addition to his interpretations and technique, he was wel ...

and

Georg Solti Sir Georg Solti ( , ; born György Stern; 21 October 1912 – 5 September 1997) was a Hungarian-British orchestral and operatic conductor, known for his appearances with opera companies in Munich, Frankfurt and London, and as a long-servin ...

. Soloists that have appeared with EUYO include pianists Martha Argerich, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Emanuel Ax, Evgeny Kissin, Radu Lupu, Julian Lloyd Webber,

Murray Perahia Murray David Perahia () (born April 19, 1947) is an American pianist and conductor. He is widely considered one of the greatest living pianists. He was the first North American pianist to win the Leeds International Piano Competition, in 1972. Kno ...

, Maria João Pires, Mikhail Pletnev,

Maurizio Pollini Maurizio Pollini (born 5 January 1942) is an Italian pianist. He is known for performances of compositions by Beethoven, Chopin and Debussy, among others. He has also championed and performed works by contemporary composers such as Pierre Boulez ...

, violinists

Itzhak Perlman Itzhak Perlman ( he, יצחק פרלמן; born August 31, 1945) is an Israeli-American violinist widely considered one of the greatest violinists in the world. Perlman has performed worldwide and throughout the United States, in venues that hav ...

, Renaud Capuçon, Kyung Wha Chung, Janine Jansen,

Leonidas Kavakos Leonidas Kavakos ( el, Λεωνίδας Καβάκος; born 30 October 1967) is a Greek violinist and conductor. As a violinist, he has won prizes at several international violin competitions, including the Sibelius, Paganini, Naumburg, and In ...

Daniel Hope Daniel Hope (born 17 August 1973, Durban, South Africa) is a European classical violinist. Early life and education Hope was born in Durban, South Africa, and is of Irish and Jewish German descent, his maternal grandparents, formerly from Be ...

, Nigel Kennedy, Yehudi Menuhin,

Midori Midori (みどり, ミドリ, , , ) is the Japanese word for "green" and may refer to: Places * Midori, Gunma * Midori-ku, Chiba * Midori-ku, Nagoya * Midori-ku, Sagamihara * Midori-ku, Saitama * Midori-ku, Yokohama People Given name * Mi ...

Viktoria Mullova Viktoria Yurievna Mullova ( rus, Виктория Юрьевна Муллова, , vʲɪˈktorʲɪɪ̯ə ˈmuɫəvə; born 27 November 1959) is a Russian-born British violinist. She is best known for her performances and recordings of a number ...

Anne-Sophie Mutter Anne-Sophie Mutter (born 29 June 1963) is a German violinist. She was supported early in her career by Herbert von Karajan. As an advocate of contemporary music, she has had several works composed especially for her, by Sebastian Currier, Henri ...

Arabella Steinbacher Arabella Miho Steinbacher (born 14 November 1981) is a German classical violinist. Biography Steinbacher was born in Munich to a Japanese mother and a German father. When she was three, her mother read that a German violin teacher had recentl ...

, Pinchas Zukerman, and singers Diana Damrau, Plácido Domingo, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Angela Gheorghiu, Matthias Goerne, Susan Graham,

Christa Ludwig Christa Ludwig (16 March 1928 – 24 April 2021) was a German mezzo-soprano and occasional dramatic soprano, distinguished for her performances of opera, lieder, oratorio, and other major religious works like masses, passions, and solos in symp ...

, and Jessye Norman.

Reception

EUYO is considered one of the best youth orchestras in the world, consistently receiving critical acclaim for its performances. In 2012, '' The New York Times'' noted that an EUYO concert at

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhatta ...

was "nearly indistinguishable from what any fine orchestra out to make an impression at Carnegie Hall might present", and that the orchestra proved conclusively that it was among the "elite institutions of its kind". The '' Financial Times'' called a 2014 performance at the Proms "sizzling" and at times "breathtaking". '' The Guardian'' described the EUYO as having "gripping, exhilaratingly good orchestral playing, surging with energy, laser-sharp focus and collective daring", with "a technical prowess that is downright terrifying". ''

Bachtrack ''Bachtrack'' is a London-based international online music magazine which publishes listings of classical music, opera, ballet and dance, as well as reviews of these genres, interviews and general feature articles. History Bachtrack Ltd was r ...

'' called EUYO a "wonderful celebration of music, friendship and European unity". '' The Times'' has called EUYO "the cream of Europe's talent", and that "post-Brexit, this closed door for the UK will be a valuable cultural opportunity lost". The '' Chicago Tribune'' called EUYO "special", remarking that the sound had "remarkable character, strength and beauty", and that "if more concerts were performed with as much dedication and passion, maybe the audience for serious music would be growing again". '' The Washington Post'' noted that EUYO "need fear no competition." In 2020, EUYO was chosen as the European Cultural Brand of the Year, setting "an example for the future" as the "living orchestra of the European Union".

References

{{Authority control 1976 establishments in Europe Articles containing video clips Pan-European music organizations Musical groups established in 1976 European Union youth policy European youth orchestras National youth orchestras Organizations related to the European Union Music and the European Union Organisations based in Ferrara