His Majesty The King surprises future maestros at Donatella Flick LSO Conducting Competition

PRESS IMAGES ARE AVAILABLE HERE

Thursday 4 December, 2025

His Majesty King Charles III has paid a surprise visit to the 2025 Donatella Flick LSO Conducting Competition, one of the world’s most prestigious platforms for rising conductors on the brink of international careers.

As Prince of Wales, His Majesty was Patron of the Competition for many years. The King now serves as Patron of the London Symphony Orchestra and remains a lifelong champion of young talent and classical music.

At LSO St Luke’s in London, His Majesty watched aspiring conductors lead the Orchestra in performances of Verdi’s Sicilian Vespers Overture, Brahms’s Second Symphony and Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade.

Escorted by competition founder Donatella Flick, The King met several of the young conductors, including Félix Benati (age 29, France), Matteo Dal Maso (age 28, Italy) and Leonhard Kreutzmann (age 22, Germany). They are among 20 maestros from 10 countries competing for the £15,000 top prize and the coveted role of LSO Assistant Conductor.

His Majesty also greeted the Orchestra’s Managing Director, Dame Kathryn McDowell and members of the distinguished jury, chaired by LSO Chief Conductor Sir Antonio Pappano – who conducted The King’s coronation service at Westminster Abbey in 2023 – and including acclaimed composer and conductor Sir James MacMillan; conductors Sian Edwards and Thomas Søndergård and LSO musicians Sarah Quinn and Rachel Gough.

For the first time, the competition has been filmed for a Sky Arts series, Making A Maestro, airing in Spring 2026. The three-part programme follows the competitors and judges, demystifying the role of the conductor as the finalists vie for the top spot.

The winner will be unveiled in the final episode of the series, airing in spring next year.

Ends

For further information or images, please contact 
Victoria Bevan: 07917 764 318

PRESS IMAGES ARE AVAILABLE HERE

The Donatella Flick LSO Conducting Competition

In 1990, Donatella Flick founded her Conducting Competition to offer much-needed support to young conductors at the start of their careers. She remains at the helm of the Competition working with a small team and in partnership with the London Symphony Orchestra to present the Competition every two years. 

Donatella Flick became aware of the challenges faced by young conductors bridging the gap between conservatoire training and a professional career, the point at which many talented conductors falter or even abandon their conducting ambitions completely, and in 1990 she founded the Donatella Flick Conducting Competition to help address the issue.  

Over thirty years later, and around 300 young conductors have taken part in 17 biennial Competitions in London and there have been 18 winners (in 2000, two conductors took the prize jointly).  

In 1996 a partnership with the London Symphony Orchestra began which has continued to grow ever since. The Finalists are lucky enough to conduct the LSO during all three days of the Competition, and the Orchestra has a collective vote as part of the judging panel. 

Many of the Competition’s winners have developed excellent careers. In 2014, Elim Chan became the first woman to win the Competition and her star has been rising sharply ever since. She was appointed to the Dudamel Fellowship programme with the LA Philharmonic in 2016/17 and in 2018 she became Principal Guest Conductor at the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. 2019 saw her BBC Proms debut with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and she was appointed Chief Conductor of the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra from the 2019/20 season.  

Donatella Flick has always worked hard to ensure that the Competition benefits everyone who takes part, and not only the winners. She achieves this through carefully considered repertoire for each round, and by inviting conductors and musicians of the highest calibre to be on the jury, giving their time for free and bringing with them a wealth of experience and wisdom. 

In 2018 the Competition broadened its reach through live-streaming and the production of an award-winning documentary. The Competition Final was streamed live for the first time, allowing a worldwide audience on Medici TV to experience the Competition at home. 

In 2018 and 2021, Il sogno del podio, a major award-winning documentary about the Competition by was produced by RAI TV, Italy’s national broadcaster. 

London Symphony Orchestra

The London Symphony Orchestra believes that extraordinary music should be available to everyone, everywhere – from orchestral fans in the concert hall to first-time listeners all over the world.

The LSO was established in 1904 as one of the first orchestras shaped by its musicians. Since then, generations of remarkable talents have built the LSO’s reputation for quality, ambition and a commitment to sharing the joy of music with everyone.

The LSO performs some 70 concerts every year as Resident Orchestra at the Barbican, with its family of artists: Chief Conductor Sir Antonio Pappano, Conductor Emeritus Sir Simon Rattle, Principal Guest Conductors Gianandrea Noseda and François-Xavier Roth, Conductor Laureate Michael Tilson Thomas, and Associate Artists Barbara Hannigan and André J Thomas.

The LSO has major artistic residencies in Paris, Tokyo and at the Aix-en-Provence Festival, and a growing presence across Australasia.

Through LSO Discovery, the LSO’s learning and community programme, 60,000 people each year experience the transformative power of music. The Orchestra’s musicians are at the heart of this unique programme, leading workshops, mentoring bright young talent, and visiting schools, hospitals and community spaces. The home of much of this work is LSO St Luke’s, the LSO’s venue on Old Street. In 2025, following a programme of works, the LSO will open up the venue’s facilities to more people than ever before, with new state-of-the-art recording facilities and dedicated spaces for LSO Discovery.

The LSO’s record label LSO Live is a leader among orchestra-owned labels, bringing to life the excitement of a live performance in a catalogue of over 200 acclaimed recordings, and reaching millions through streaming services and online broadcasts. The LSO has been prolific in the studio since the infancy of orchestral recording, and has made more recordings than any other orchestra – over 2,500 projects to date – across film, video games and bespoke audio collaborations. Through inspiring music, learning programmes and digital innovations, the LSO’s reach extends far beyond the concert hall.