Herbert von Karajan
Young Conductors Award

Herbert von Karajan
Young Conductors Award

Supported by ROLEX

Striving for the highest musical standards was a founding tenet of the Salzburg Festival, which means that the greatest conductors and most important artists of each generation have always been drawn to Salzburg. Herbert von Karajan, whose name graces this award, was one of them; Manfred Honeck, the chairman of the jury, is another.

The conductors who put themselves forward for the Salzburg Festival’s prestigious Young Conductors Award are among the most exciting talents of their generation. After emerging as the winner from a field of 320 candidates, Korean born Hankyeol Yoon took home the 2023 title. The prizewinning conductor traditionally receives an invitation to prepare an Award Winner‘s Concert together with the ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra. Alongside the world premiere of one of his own compositions, Hankyeol Yoon has programmed Tchaikovsky’s ‘Pathétique’ Symphony and Bruch’s Violin Concerto. The soloist for the latter will be María Dueñas, who makes her Festival debut. 

A glance at the history of the competition shows that the Young Conductors Award offers an exciting opportunity to encounter the top conductors of tomorrow. One reason to keep an eye on Hankyeol Yoon is the trend for past winners to regularly return to the Salzburg Festival, with Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla and Maxime Pascal appearing in 2024. 

An initiative of the Salzburg Festival in cooperation with the Eliette and Herbert von Karajan Institute.

pplications for the next edition of the competition should open in autumn 2024.

Finalists 2023

Vitali Alekseenok
YCA Finalist
Tobias Wögerer
YCA Finalist
Hankyeol Yoon
YCA Finalist

Jury

Manfred Honeck
Chairman of the Jury
Peter Alward
Peter Alward
former Director of the Salzburg Easter Festival
Gary Hanson
Gary Hanson
former Executive Director of the Cleveland Orchestra
artistic director pianist Markus Hinterhäuser piano
Markus Hinterhäuser
Artistic Director of the Salzburg Festival
Brian McMaster
Former Director of the Edinburgh International Festival
Alexander Meraviglia-Crivelli
Alexander Meraviglia-Crivelli
Artistic and Executive Director of the Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester
Pamela Rosenberg
Pamela Rosenberg
former Artistic Director of the Berlin Philharmonic
Florian Wiegand
Florian Wiegand
Concert Director of the Salzburg Festival

Laureates

Hankyeol Yoon
LAUREATE 2021, South Korea
Joel Sandelson conductor
Joel Sandelson
Laureate 2021, Great Britain
Gábor Káli
Laureate 2018, Hungary
Kerem Hasan
Laureate 2017, Great Britain
Chief Conductor of the Tyrolian Symphony Orchestra Innsbruck
Aziz Shokhakimov
Laureate 2016, Uzbekistan
Music Director of the Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg
Lorenzo Viotti
Laureate 2015, Switzerland
Principal conductor of the Dutch National Opera
Maxime Pascal
Laureate 2014, France
Music Director of the orchestra Le Balcon
Ben Gernon
Laureate 2013, Great Britain
Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla
Laureate 2012, Lithuania
Principal Guest Conductor City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
Ainars Rubikis
Laureate 2011, Latvia
David Afkham
Laureate 2010, Germany
Chief Conductor of the Orquestra y Coro Nacional de España

Contact

For further information or if you have any questions please contact yca@salzburgfestival.at