On 28 August, the 2nd Zoltán Kodály International Music Competition concluded with a Gala Concert and Awards Ceremony at the Kölcsey Centre in Debrecen.
The 2nd Zoltán Kodály International Music Competition, organised by the Kodály Philharmonia Debrecen and JM Hungary from 20-28 August, attracted 308 young musicians from 56 countries on five continents, with 26 conductors finally qualifying for the live rounds.
Five conductors made it to the finals of the 2nd Kodály International Music Competition, and after the all-important final round, the international jury awarded the following prizes:
- 2nd Prize (shared) – Alexander Sinan BINDER & Mateusz GWIZDALLA
- 3rd prize – Dániel ERDÉLYI
- 4th prize – Eric STAIGER
- 5th prize – Jiří HABART
Jiří Habart was awarded fifth place and special prizes from the Kodály Philharmonic Orchestra, the Hungarian State Opera and the Dohnányi Orchestra of Budafok. Eris Staiger was awarded fourth prize and an invitation from the Philharmonia Hungary. In addition to third place, Dániel Erdélyi was awarded the Papageno Special Prize by the audience and received special prizes from the Budapest Philharmonic Society and the MÁV Symphony Orchestra. Alexander Sinan Binder took home special prizes from the Danubia Orchestra and the Banatul Philharmonic Orchestra of Timisoara, while Mateusz Gwizdalla was invited to the ETSU Symphony Orchestra in the United States.
During the Zoltán Kodály International Music Competition, the young conductors worked with the Kodály Philharmonic ensembles. In the third, all-decisive round, the contestants conducted Zoltán Kodály’s Psalmus Hungaricus, composed exactly 100 years ago. The soloist was István Kovácsházi.
The international jury of seven was chaired by a true legend, 93-year-old Jorma Panula. The jury was composed of János Ács, Peter Broadbent, Remy Franck, Zsolt Hamar, Oksana Madarash and Imre Kollár.
All rounds of the competition can be watched on Papageno and on the official competition website.
