Classical Music News

30 Conductors Selected for the First Round of the Kodály Competition

August 17, 2023

2 MIN READ

Focusing on the genre of the oratorio, the competition selected the candidates from a large initial pool of 308 applicants

30 candidates will take part in the First Round of the Kodály Conducting Competition for 2023. The competition, which is in its second edition this year, is set to begin on August 21, and is hosted in the Hungarian city of Debrecen. The competition is distinct from others like it in that it focuses on the genre of the oratorio.

The 30 first-round candidates have been selected from a pool of 308 applicants, who hailed from 56 different countries. They are made up of 29 men and just one woman, with six candidates hailing from Hungary.

The repertoire for the first round includes Johann Strauss's overtures for Die Fledermaus and Der Zigeunerbaron, as well as excerpts from Bartók's Dance Suite. The latter rounds focus strongly on Kodály, and include his Dances of Galánta, Dances of Marosszék, and the Psalmus Hungaricus.

In 2023, the jury is comprised of Jorma Panula (President), János Ács, Peter Broadbent, Remy Franck, Zsolt Hamar, Oksana Madarash, and Dániel Somogyi-Tóth.

"The 100th anniversary of the Kodály Philharmonic Orchestra this year coincides with the centenary of Psalmus Hungaricus, so we can finally realize our long-standing dream of organizing an oratorio-conducting competition in Debrecen, for which the Zoltán Kodály International Music Competition, launched last year with great success, provides a great framework," said Dániel Somogyi-Tóth, the General Music Director of the City of Debrecen.

The candidates are: