On 26 and 27 August, the 2nd Zoltán Kodály International Music Competition continued with the third, all-decisive round, during which young conductors competed.
Five contestants entered the final of the 2nd Kodály International Music Competition taking place between 20-28 August in Debrecen. 308 young musicians from 56 countries on five continents applied to the 2nd Kodály Zoltán Kodály International Music Competition, organized by the Kodály Philharmonia Debrecen and JM Hungary of which 26 conductors were finally able to start the live rounds.
After the 3rd Round the jury, chaired by Maestro Jorma Panula decided as follows:
- 2nd Prize (shared) – Alexander Sinan BINDER & Mateusz GWIZDALLA
- 3rd Prize – Dániel ERDÉLYI
- 4th Prize – Eric STAIGER
- 5th Prize – Jiří HABART
In addition to the fifth place, Jiří Habart also received special prizes from the Kodály Philharmonic Orchestra, the Hungarian State Opera, and the Dohnányi Orchestra of Budafok. Eris Staiger won the 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 invitations from the Budapest Philharmonic Society and the MÁV Symphony Orchestra.
Alexander Sinan Binder took home the special prize of 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, young conductors worked with the ensembles of the Kodály Philharmonia Debrecen. In the third round, each contestant conducted Zoltán Kodály’s Psalmus Hungaricus, composed exactly 100 years ago, with István Kovácsházi as soloist.
The international jury of seven was chaired by a true legend, 93-year-old Jorma Panula.
Members of the jury:
- János Ács (Italy/Hungary),
- Peter Broadbent (United Kingdom)
- Remy Franck (Luxembourg)
- Zsolt Hamar (Hungary)
- Oksana Madarash (Ukraine)
- Imre Kollár (Hungary)
The final event of the competition, Gala Concert and Award Ceremony will take place on 28 August 7 p.m. in the Great Hall of the Kölcsey Center, for which HUF 500 registration tickets can be purchased.
All rounds of the competition can be viewed on Papageno’s platforms, and the Gala Concert will be available to follow live. The Audience Award will also be presented at the closing event. Voting announced on the official page of the competition ends on 28 August 28 at 12:00 p.m.
