Ukrainian Conductor Oksana Lyniv Wins Bavarian Culture Prize

Lyniv has won the award recognizing her contributions to the classical music scene

Since 2005, the Bavarian Culture Prize has been presented by the German energy company Bayernwerk in collaboration with the Bavarian Ministry of Art. Five winners in the arts category are selected annually by an expert jury. 

One of the winners is the Ukrainian conductor Oksana Lyniv, who will also receive a cash prize. The award ceremony will be held on November 14, 2024, in Munich. 

Lyniv has been music director of the Teatro Comunale di Bologna since 2022 when she became the first female chief conductor of an opera house in Italy. In 2021, she was the first female conductor to conduct a production at the Richard Wagner Festival in Bayreuth. 

Earlier this year, she made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera as the first Ukrainian conductor, leading an acclaimed performance of Puccini’s Turandot. 

Notably, Lyniv has appeared with the Bavarian State Opera, State Opera Berlin, Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Opéra National de Paris, Oper Frankfurt, Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, Theater an der Wien, and Stuttgart State Opera.

Her current season includes a return to the Opéra National de Paris, the Barenboim-Said Academy, and ORF Radio Symphony Orchestra Vienna. Additionally, she will conduct Puccin’s Madama Butterfly at the Tokyo Spring Festival and debut with a new production of Eugene Onegin at the Semperoper Dresden.

Dedicated to the education of young artists, she is also the founder and chief conductor of the Youth Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine (YsOU).

Previous winners of the Bavarian Culture Prize include Gerhard Polt, Klaus Doldinger, Dieter Dorn, Franz Xaver Bogner, Bruno Jonas, Ottfried Fischer, Joana Mallwitz, and Dieter Hanitzsch.

“Oksana Lyniv is a top-class conductor, a musical pioneer and an inspiring bridge builder,” said Bavaria’s Minister of Arts Markus Blume, according to SZ. “As the first woman at the conductor’s podium at the Bayreuth Festival, she has set a historic example … [she is an] ambassador of music that overcomes borders and inspires generations,” he added. “Especially in times like these, we need the unifying power of music more than ever.”