Korean National Symphony Orchestra's Conducting Competition Announces 2024 Winners

German conductor Simon Edelmann has won first place alongside a cash prize of KRW 50 million (around $35,500 USD)

Held every three years, the Korean National Symphony Orchestra International Conducting Competition (KNSO ICC) is open to participants aged 23 to 35 of any nationality.

The second KNSO ICC saw 224 applicants from 44 countries. In the recent final round, 11 candidates from six countries performed a range of contemporary, concerto, and symphonic works.

The German conductor Simon Edelmann won the KRW 50 million first prize with his performances of movements from Brahms’ Symphony No. 4, Rachmaninoff’s Symphonic Dances, and Debussy’s La Mer. Edelmann was doubly awarded the Audience Prize of KRW 4,000,000. 

The American conductors Euan Shields and Austin Alexander Chanu won second and third place, respectively, taking home KRW 30 million and KRW 10 million. Chanu also received the KRW 4,000,000 Orchestra Prize. 

Additionally, the top prize winners will receive opportunities to perform with KNSO, the Seoul Arts Center, and the Gyeonggi, Bucheon, Busan, and Daejeon Philharmonic Orchestras. 

Chaired by David Reiland, the jury comprised Chi-Yong Chung, Collin Metters, Curtis Stewart, Kristian Järvi, Michael Becker, Michelle Kim, Nicolás Pasquet, and Sian Edwards. 

According to the Korea Times, Reiland praised Edelmann as a “skilled and experienced conductor [who demonstrated] excellent leadership and understanding of the orchestra.”

“[My goal] has been to realize the music and let it speak for itself,” Edelman expressed. “Because I believe the concert should be about the music, not about the conductor. I’m not sure if that impressed the jury, but that was one of the things I aimed to achieve in the final. I don’t want to be remembered for conducting great concerts, but I want people to remember the great music they heard in those concerts.

“We want to conduct, we want to stand in front of an orchestra, we want to perform great music,” he continued. “So the greatest gift is actually to be here, to be able to get time in front of the orchestra to play, make music with them. In the end, that for me is the most important thing.”

“I think just being true to yourself and being yourself fully on the podium with whatever works for you,” Chanu added. “You can’t get up there and be fake and try to do something different. You have to represent yourself fully and you have to live authentically. You have to live your life authentically both on and off the podium. So to me, I try to emulate that every day. I try to be just as true of a person as I can.”