Herbert von Karajan Young Conductors Award Names 2025 Finalists

Jong-Jie Yin, Christian Blex, and Jakub Przybycień will be conducting the Camerata Salzburg in the final round from August 1–3, 2025

Presented by the Salzburg Festival in partnership with the Eliette and Herbert von Karajan Institute, the Herbert von Karajan Young Conductors Award is open to international conductors aged 21 to 35. 

For the final round this August, Jong-Jie Yin, Christian Blex, and Jakub Przybycień will each conduct a one-hour concert at the Stiftung Mozarteum – Großer Saal. 

Each finalist will perform alongside the Camerata Salzburg and participants of the Young Singers Project, with a special focus on contemporary compositions.

The first prize winner will receive €15,000 and an invitation to the 2026 Salzburg Festival, where they will conduct the Award Winner’s Concert in the Felsenreitschule.

Chaired by Manfred Honeck, the 2025 jury will comprise Gary Hanson, Markus Hinterhäuser, Alexander Meraviglia-Crivelli, Pamela Rosenberg, Florian Wiegand, Axel Hiller, and Tobias Niederschlag. 

Currently Assistant Conductor of the China National Symphony Orchestra, 24-year-old Jong-Jie Yin won the 11th Grzegorz Fitelberg International Competition for Conductors in 2023. He has since made his debut with the Poznań Philharmonic, Silesian Philharmonic, the Polish Baltic Philharmonic orchestras, and many more. 

Hailing from Germany, Christian Blex currently serves as Assistant Conductor of the Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester. He has assisted Kirill Petrenko at the Berlin Philharmonic and has been a conducting scholar at the Karajan Academy. Additionally, he has collaborated with conductors including Daniel Harding, Daniel Barenboim, Gustavo Dudamel, Christian Thielemann, Jakub Hrusa, Tugan Sokhiev, and Kent Nagano, among others. 

A Polish conductor and violinist based in Switzerland, Jakub Przybycień has been Assistant Conductor to Ludovic Morlot at the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra. Also a designated winner of the International Conducting Competition Rotterdam 2025, his upcoming projects include debuts with the Kyiv Symphony Orchestra, Barcelona Symphony Orchestra, and Deutsche Philharmonie Merck.