Competitions › Evgeny Svetlanov International Conducting Competition
Evgeny Svetlanov International Conducting Competition
Next edition
- Edition
- 2026
- Dates
- 3-6 September 2026 (Preliminary Round 3-4 Sept, Semi-finals 5 Sept, Finals 6 Sept)
- Location
- CBSO Centre and Symphony Hall, Birmingham, with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
- Registration deadline
- 22 April 2026 (extended; applications closed)
- Fee
- EUR 250, non-refundable unless the competition is cancelled
Source: svetlanov-evgeny.com
Overview
Founded in 2007 in accordance with the wishes of conductor Evgeny Svetlanov, this itinerant competition is held in partnership with leading orchestras. Each edition welcomes 18 conductors selected from several hundred applications.
- Organiser
- Evgeny Svetlanov International Conducting Competition (Executive Board; founder and president Marina Bower)
- Instruments
- Conducting
- Category
- Orchestral conducting
- Age limits
- Born between 1986 and 2006 inclusive (6th edition)
Rules & repertoire
Registration & fee
Online application; fee EUR 250 payable by Visa, Mastercard or PayPal.
Rounds & time limits
- Preliminary Round: 20 minutes, 8 candidates advance
- Semi-finals: 35 minutes, 4 candidates advance
- Finals: about 1 hour
Repertoire
Preliminary round: one overture or excerpt from a list. Semi-finals: compulsory works by Wagner, Mozart and Tchaikovsky. Finals: a Svetlanov Largo, a new commission by Antonino Abate and three works chosen from a list of ten (symphonies by Beethoven, Dvorak, Franck, Mozart, Mendelssohn, Schumann, Sibelius, Tchaikovsky and Elgar's Enigma Variations among them).
Jury & prizes
Jury
- Bertrand de Billy (president)
- Mauro Bucarelli
- Christoph Ghristi
- Matthias Goerne
- Sascha Goetzel
- Paul Hughes
- Ion Marin
- Matthias Naske
- Deborah Polaski
- Kazuki Yamada
Prizes
- 1st prize: EUR 20,000 and diploma
- 2nd prize: EUR 10,000 and diploma
- 3rd prize: EUR 5,000 and diploma
- Orchestra Prize (CBSO) with invitation to conduct a concert in the 2027-2028 season
- Audience Prize and Online Vote Prize
- Musical partners' prizes (engagements)
Past editions
Not published on the official pages we could check.Summarised from official sources, last checked 10 Nov 2026. Main source