Israeli conductors finished first and second out of four finalists in the sixth Evgeny Svetlanov International Conducting Competition on Sunday, one of the most prestigious in the world.
The competition is held every four years in different countries. This year the venue was Symphony Hall Birmingham.
Over the four days of the competition, 18 conductors were whittled down to four, who then each conducted an hour-long programme on Sunday with the renowned City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO).
The winner was 29-year-old Israeli Michal Oren, who beat fellow Israeli Mikhail Mering.
All the finalists had to perform the Largo – the slow-tempo piece – from the only symphony composed by Svetlanov, the legendary Russian conductor who died in 2002 and set up the competition as his bequest.
Ninety minutes before the concert they were also each given the same new piece to conduct, Il Re d’Itaca by Antonino Abate.
The finalists had to choose one symphony to rehearse and perform. Oren opted for Dvorak’s Seventh Symphony and impressed the ten judges – who voted unanimously for her – not only with her performance but with her rehearsal technique. The concert took the form of a dress rehearsal, with each finalist spending around half their allotted time working with the orchestra.
Oren studied at both the Royal Academy of Music and the Royal College of Music in London, after being awarded degrees in conducting and clarinet at the Buchman-Mehta School of Music in Tel Aviv.
This season she starts as Calleva Assistant Conductor at the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, and was named earlier this year as a rising star by Classic FM.
The runner-up, 34-year-old Mikhail Mering, also began as a clarinettist but moved to conducting, which he studied at the Tchaikovsky Moscow State Conservatory.
He was assistant conductor at the Bolshoi Opera in Moscow and is currently assistant conductor at the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra.
The winner receives 20,000 euros as well as a series of engagements, including with the CBSO in the 2027/28 season.
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