Nicolò Foron is the winner of the 17th Donatella Flick Conducting Competition

Thursday 23 March 2023
25-year old Italian-German conductor awarded £15,000 prize by Donatella Flick and becomes Assistant Conductor with the London Symphony Orchestra for up to one year

Final available to watch on-demand on medici.tv

Nicolò Foron was today [23 March] announced as the winner of the 17th Donatella Flick LSO Conducting Competition, following three days of competition and incredible music-making at LSO St Luke’s, London.

Internationally renowned as one of the world’s leading music competitions, the Competition’s prize package is unparalleled and will enable the 25-year old Italian-born German conductor to lay the foundations for a successful conducting career, following in the footsteps of esteemed previous winners such as Elim Chan, François-Xavier Roth and Clemens Schuldt.

After a thrilling Final where Nicolò Foron, Jiří Habart and Jakub Przybycień each conducted the London Symphony Orchestra in pieces by Wagner, Grieg and Berlioz, Foron was chosen as the winner by an expert panel of judges, including David Alberman (chair), Sally Beamish, Martyn Brabbins, Sian Edwards, Juliana Koch and Sir Antonio Pappano. The Orchestra also had a collective vote as part of the judging panel.

Donatella Flick, the founder of the Competition, announced the winner along with David Alberman and HRH the Duke of Kent, whom the Competition was honoured to have in attendance.

The Final was live streamed on medici.tv and hosted by Gramophone Editor-in-Chief James Jolly, and will now be available to view globally on-demand for 90 days.

Foron is awarded a £15,000 cash prize by Donatella Flick and becomes Assistant Conductor with the London Symphony Orchestra for up to one year. During this time, they will work with the LSO’s Principal and guest conductors on the preparation of concerts, often on the assessment of new scores; take part in the LSO’s education and outreach programme, LSO Discovery; accompany the orchestra on tour and, should the opportunity arise, conduct the LSO in concert.

Nicolò Foron said:

“Thank you so much to the jury, to Donatalla Flick and to the magnificent players of the London Symphony Orchestra. It has been such a great week. I’m ecstatic.”

David Alberman, Chair of the Jury, LSO Principal Second Violin and Chair, said:

“We have witnessed some tremendous music-making this week with 20 exceptional conductors from all over Europe inspiring us to feel that the future of music is in great hands. We offer our huge congratulations and thanks to each of them.

However in the end the jury came to the clear decision that of all the competitors, it was Nicolò’s outstanding combination of charisma, energy, technique and musicianship which demonstrated the greatest potential for an exciting future career. We look forward to many more performances conducted by him!”

80 conductors applied to the Competition this year, with 20 shortlisted for the First Round by an expert selection panel; ten of these then progressed to the Second Round, before three Finalists were chosen to compete in the Final Round. The Competition is open to conductors aged 30 and under who are citizens of the UK; countries having full membership of the European Union; and Norway, Iceland, Lichtenstein or Switzerland.

For more information or interview requests, please contact Victoria Bevan at Premier PR, victoria.bevan@premiercomms.com, +44-7917 764318.

IMAGES from the 17th Donatella Flick LSO Conducting Competition Final can be downloaded HERE.

Notes to Editors

Nicolò Foron (Germany/Italy)

The Italo-German conductor, pianist and composer Nicolò Umberto Foron is principal assistant conductor of Ensemble Intercontemporain, Paris and winner of the International Conducting Competition Jeunesse Musicales Bucharest. In 2022 he was selected for the Peter Eötvös' Mentoring Program and as a Conducting Fellow at Tanglewood Festival.

This season he will debut with the Orchestre National de Montpellier, the Staatskapelle Weimar and the Gewandhaus Orchestra Mendelssohn Academy. Previously he has worked with the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, Symfonieorkest Vlaanderen, Het Residentie Orkest, Sinfonia Rotterdam and NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra and the Sofia Philarmonic Orchestra with Sabine Meyer.

In 2021 he conducted the world premiere of Jan Peter de Graaff's cello concerto and the recording of this concert was nominated for the German Schallplattenpreis.

At the age of 15 he assisted Lorin Maazel and the following year began studying conducting at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam. Subsequently he moved to London to study at the Royal College of Music and the Royal Academy of Music.

Other highlights include being invited by Bernard Haitink to his masterclass at the Lucerne Festival and assisting Riccardo Muti at the Ravenna festival, culminating in a performance of Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro.

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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 16 biennial Competitions in London and there have been 17 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 rounds 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. François-Xavier Roth (joint-winner in 2000) developed such a fine rapport with the LSO during his time as Assistant Conductor that he has worked with the Orchestra every year since, leading its young composers programme for many years and in 2016 becoming Principal Guest Conductor.

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.

The London Symphony Orchestra

The London Symphony Orchestra [LSO] was established in 1904 and has a unique ethos. As a musical collective, it is built on artistic ownership and partnership. With an inimitable signature sound, the LSO’s mission is to inspire hearts and minds through world-leading music-making. The LSO has been the only Resident Orchestra at the Barbican Centre in the City of London since it opened in 1982, giving 70 symphonic concerts there every year. The Orchestra works with a family of artists that includes some of the world’s greatest conductors – Sir Simon Rattle as Music Director, Principal Guest Conductors Gianandrea Noseda and François-Xavier Roth, and Michael Tilson Thomas as Conductor Laureate. In March 2021 it was announced that Sir Antonio Pappano will take up the role of Chief Conductor of the LSO from September 2024.