The International Competition of Young Conductors Lovro von Matačić is being organized by the

Lovro and Lilly Matačić Foundation The Lovro and Lilly Matačić Foundation was founded in 1987 according to the will of both, with an aim to improve the skill of exceptionally gifted young conductors, in Croatia and abroad. About the foundation The foundation is a non-profit assoc ...

every 4 years in

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slop ...

(

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

) and is eligible to conductors under the age of 35.

About the Competition

In 1995, on the 10th anniversary of maestro Lovro von Matačić's death, the first ''Lovro Matačić International Competition of Young Conductors'' was held. Since then, the event has been attracting the attention of the musical public every four years in autumn, bringing to Croatia's capital young conductors eager to find an incentive at the start of their careers. The candidates send audio and video recordings of their performances in the application. In the previous four Competitions the candidates were evaluated by

Milan Horvat Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

Valter Dešpalj Valter Dešpalj (born 1947) is a Croatian cellist and a professor at the Zagreb Academy of Music. Early years Dešpalj was born in Zadar, Croatia to Albanian parents and graduated from the Juilliard School (cello with L. Rose, chamber music wi ...

Kazushi Ono Kazushi (written: 和志, 和司, 和士, 和史, 一志 or 一至) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese manga artist *, Japanese rugby sevens player *, Japanese writer *, Japanese footballer *, Jap ...

, Krešimir Šipuš, Klaus Arp, Pavle Dešpalj, Uroš Lajovic, Vladimir Krpan, Vjekoslav Šutej, Berislav Klobučar,

Pascal Rophé Pascal Rophé (born 16 June 1960) is a French conductor. He is currently music director of the Orchestre national des Pays de la Loire. Biography Born in Paris, Rophé studied as early as 1974 at the Conservatoire de Paris, first studying the ...

, Gianpaolo Coral, Vladimir Benić, Zoran Juranić, Stanko Horvat, Nikša Bareza, Dmitri Kitayenko, Martin Sieghart, Simone Young, and many others. The importance of the award received from the Lovro von Matačić International Competition for Young Conductors is evident from the careers achieved by the winners of previous Competitions: although the first prize of 1995 was not awarded, the second prize winner Dmitri Liss is now the chief conductor of the Uralian Philharmonic Orchestra, and the associate conductor of the

Russian National Orchestra The Russian National Orchestra (russian: Российский национальный оркестр) was founded in Moscow in 1990 by pianist and conductor Mikhail Pletnev. It was the first Russian orchestra to perform at the Apostolic Palace, Va ...

. In 1999 he was also on the Jury of the Matačić Competition. On that occasions,

Alan Buribayev Alan Buribayev ( kz, Алан Бөрібаев, ''Alan Börıbaev''; surname also spelled Buribaev in English) (born 30 May 1979) is a Kazakh orchestral conductor. Career The son of a cellist/conductor father and a pianist mother, he studied v ...

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...

won the Competition to become the chief conductor of the Irish National Radio Television Orchestra in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

in 2010/2011, and the leader of symphony orchestras of Norrkoping, Sweden and Brabant, Netherlands. Michal Dworzynski of Poland won the Competition in 2003. Dworzynski has so far conducted the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Philharmonic Orchestra, the London Philharmonics,

London Symphony Orchestra The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's orchestras, symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's ...

Ulster Orchestra The Ulster Orchestra, based in Belfast, is the only full-time professional orchestra in Northern Ireland. The orchestra plays the majority of its concerts in Belfast's Ulster Hall and Waterfront Hall. It also gives concerts across the United K ...

, Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra, Dutch Radio Philharmonics, and many others. In June this year he is going to tour Australia and New Zealand. The winner of the last Competition in 2007 was Jimy Chiang Chi-Bun, born in Hong Kong, who has conducted the

Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra The Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra (German: ''ORF Radio-Symphonieorchester Wien'', or RSO Wien) is the orchestra of the Austrian national broadcaster Österreichischer Rundfunk (ORF). Unlike most other Austrian orchestras, the RSO Wien has a sub ...

, staged G. Ligeti's ''Le Grand Macabre'' in Spain and in 2010 debuted with ''

La Traviata ''La traviata'' (; ''The Fallen Woman'') is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi set to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave. It is based on ''La Dame aux camélias'' (1852), a play by Alexandre Dumas ''fils'' adapted from his own 18 ...

'' at the Berlin Comic Opera. The second prize winner

Eugene Tzigane Eugene Tzigane (IPA – Ju:dʒi:n tsi'ga:n) (real name: Gene McDonough) is a symphonic and operatic conductor. He's serving as Chief Conductor and Artistic Director of Kuopio Symphony Orchestra in Kuopio, Finland, since 2023. Biography Tziga ...

has recently become the chief conductor of the Northwest German Philharmonic Opera, the guest conductor of the Pomeranian Philharmonics, and has also performed in the

Bavarian State Opera The Bayerische Staatsoper is a German opera company based in Munich. Its main venue is the Nationaltheater München, and its orchestra the Bayerische Staatsorchester. History The parent ensemble of the company was founded in 1653, under Ele ...

. Special prize winner of the 2011 competition Maria Badstue from Denmark made her official debut with the Copenhagen Phil in 2013, and she has worked with the Gothenburg Symphony, South Denmark Phil, Helsingborg Symphony, Kristiansand Symphony, Odense Symphony, Aalborg Symphony, South Denmark Philharmonic, Orkester Norden a.o.

History of the Competition

1st International Competition of Young Conductors Lovro von Matačić, 1995

* 1st prize wasn't awarded * 2nd prize:

Dmitry Liss Dmitry Liss (born 1960) is a Russian Conductor (music), conductor. He is also the artistic director and chief conductor of the Ural Philharmonic Orchestra. Biography Born in 1960, Dmitry Liss is a graduate of the Moscow Conservatory. Upon gradu ...

(

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

) * 3rd prize: Matthew Rowe (United Kingdom), Rolf Buijs (Netherlands)

2nd International Competition of Young Conductors Lovro von Matačić, 1999

* 1st prize:

(

) * 2nd prize: Karen Kamenšek (USA) * 3rd prize: Janos Antal (

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

)

3rd International Competition of Young Conductors Lovro von Matačić, 2003

* 1st prize: Michal Dworzyński (

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

) * 2nd prize: Dian Čobanov (

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

) * 3rd prize:

Jakub Hrůša Jakub Hrůša (born 23 July 1981 in Brno), is a Czech conductor. Education Hrůša is the son of the architect Petr Hrůša. Hrůša studied piano and trombone, and developed an interest in conducting, during his years at Gymnázium třída K ...

(

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

)

4th International Competition of Young Conductors Lovro von Matačić, 2007

* 1st prize: Jimmy Chiang Chi-Bun (United Kingdom) * 2nd prize:

(USA) * 3rd prize: Hikaru Ebihara (Japan)

5th International Competition of Young Conductors Lovro von Matačić, 2011

* 1st prize: Alexei Bogorad (Russia) * 2nd prize:

Kahchun Wong Wong Kah Chun (; born 24 June 1986), also known as Kahchun Wong, is a Singaporean conductor. Biography Wong was born in 1986 to Victor Wong, a Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) warrant officer, and Yeo Huay Lan, a childcare teacher. His family lived ...

(Singapore) * 3rd prize:

6th International Competition of Young Conductors Lovro von Matačić, 2015

* 1st prize: Gabriel Bebeselea (Romania) * 2nd prize: Dean Whiteside (USA), So Awatsuji (Japan) * 3rd prize:

External links

Fond Lovro i Lilly Matačić

{{DEFAULTSORT:International Competition of Young Conductors Lovro von Matacic Conducting competitions Recurring events established in 1995 1995 establishments in Croatia Culture in Zagreb Classical music in Croatia