Polish-German conductor Mateusz Molęda received First Prize

The third edition of the Sergey Kussewitzky International Conducting Competition, which takes place each year in the city of Grosseto in Tuscany, Italy, has recently come to a close. The competition grew out the the Scriabin Piano Competition, which is hosted by the same city.

Candidates for the competition were chosen from an online pre-selection round, with the live Semifinal and Final being held in Grosseto's Teatro degli Industri and featuring the Città di Grosseto Orchestra.

Conductor Mateusz Molęda was named as the overall winner and also received the Orchestra's Special Prize. Second Prize went to Hae Lee, while Third Prize went to Chaowen Ting.

In 2023, the jury comprised Vittorio Parisi (President), Massimo Belli, Giancarlo de Lorenzo, Christian Fitzner, Francisco Javier Gutierrez, Massimo Merone, and Szymon Makowski.

Born into a Polish family in Dresden, Mateusz Molęda initially studied piano with Arie Vardi at the Hanover University of Music, Drama, and Media.

In the 2023/24 and 2024/25 seasons Mateusz will make his debuts with the Deutsche Radio Philharmonie Saarbrücken Kaiserslautern, the Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz, the Dresden Philharmonic, the Hungarian National Symphony Orchestra, and the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra in Canada, among others. He will also return to work with the London Mozart Players, with whom he will tour Germany in May 2024.

"I‘m beyond excited to share that I have been awarded the 1st Prize and the Orchestra’s Special Prize at the 3rd Sergey Kussewitzky International Conducting Competition 2023!" Molęda wrote.