No Polish conductors among Fitelberg Competition finalists
PR dla Zagranicy
Grzegorz Siwicki
24.11.2017 09:08
Conductors from Israel, Lithuania, the Czech Republic, Taiwan, Singapore and Russia have qualified for the finals of the Grzegorz Fitelberg International Conducting Competition in Katowice, southern Poland.
![Polish composer and conductor Grzegorz Fitelberg. Photo by unknown photographer [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons](http://external.polskieradio.pl/files/5f0c0076-f9f3-45dd-aa3b-ad01d76a2922.file "Polish composer and conductor Grzegorz Fitelberg. Photo by unknown photographer [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons")
Polish composer and conductor Grzegorz Fitelberg. Photo by unknown photographer [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
In Friday’s auditions, they were set to conduct the Silesian Philharmonic orchestra in a 50-minute open rehearsal comprising fragments of selected works of 20th-century music, including those by Polish composers Karol Szymanowski, Witold Lutosławski, Henryk Mikołaj Górecki and Krzysztof Penderecki.
The winners of the top three prizes will receive the Golden, Silver and Bronze Batons as well as cash awards of EUR 25,000, EUR 20,000 and EUR 15,000 respectively. They will also get invitations from Polish and foreign orchestras.
The competition was entered by 47 conductors from across the world, selected from among 170 applicants.
Founded in 1979, the Fitelberg Competition in Katowice is regarded as one of the world’s most prestigious competitions for conductors. It is dedicated to Grzegorz Fitelberg (1879-1953), a prominent Polish conductor and composer, the founder of the Great Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra (now the National Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra) based in Katowice. (mk/gs)