There’s a sibling of Eurovision that many seem to forget, and that’s Eurovision Young Musicians. The contest has been running since 1982, and occurs every 2 years. The contest is for musicians 18 years or younger, and the chosen representative performs a piece of classical music of their choice accompanied by a local orchestra. A jury chooses the top 3 participants, and prior to 2014 and 2016, there was a semi-final which took place before the contest to decide which nations would participate in the final.
This year, the contest will be taking place on the 3rd of September, at the Cologne Cathedral in Cologne, Germany. A total of 11 participants will take to the stage this year from the following countries:
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Austria – Dominik Wagner (Double Bass)
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Croatia – Marko Martinović (Tamburica)
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Czech Republic – Robert Bílý (Piano)
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Germany – Raul Maria Dignola (Horn)
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Hungary – Jakab Roland Attila (Violin)
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Malta – Dmitry Ishkhanov (Piano)
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Norway – Ludvig Gudim (Violin)
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Poland – Łukasz Dyczko (Saxophone)
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San Marino – Francesco Stefanelli (Cello)
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Slovenia – Zala Vidic (Cello)
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Sweden – Eliot Nordqvist (Piano)
This is the first year that San Marino has participated, and unfortunately we’ve seen the withdrawal of Greece, Moldova, The Netherlands and Portugal. This is now the second consecutive edition that will be held by Germany, and hosted by the German Broadcaster WDR.
The hosts of this edition of the contest are Daniel Hope and Tamina Kallert, and the participants will be accompanied by the WDR Symphony Orchestra, with Clemens Schuldt as the conductor. The participants will perform a piece up to 6 minutes long, which will then be judged by a jury of a total of five people. After the participants have finished their piece, the jury will then comment on the performances, and after all the performances, scores will be added to decide who wins.
The jury members are:
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Alice Sara Ott – A German-Japanese pianist and winner of the 2010 Echo Klassik Young Artist of the Year
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Andreas Martin Hofmeir – An Austrian tubist who also wrote the song Nackert, which was performed by LaBrassBanda in the German National Final for Eurovision in 2013
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Jonathan Cohen – Artistic director and founder of the British music ensemble Arcangelo
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Julian Rachlin – Winner of the Eurovision Young Musicians in 1988, representing Austria
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Tine Thing Helseth – Runner up at the Eurovision Young Musicians in 2006, representing Norway