November 21 - conference summarizing the first stage

On November 21, 2023, a press conference was held summarizing the first stage of the competition. The competition studio was run by Agnieszka Nowok-Zych, editor of Polish Radio Katowice, and Adam Rozlach, music journalist of Program I of Polish Radio. The guest of the competition studio was Krzysztof Stefański, deputy editor-in-chief of Ruch Muzyczny, who listened closely to the competition auditions. The summaries of the first stage confirmed the opinion that the level of the competition was medium-high. Experts in the studio agreed that the participants performed very well and it was difficult to choose among them who should perform in the second stage. The issue of the participants’ age was also raised. In the case of some, very young, which, however, did not translate into the conductors’ lack of experience.

After the talks in the competition studio, it was time for a press conference where we learned the results of the first stage of the competition. The director of the Silesian Philharmonic, Adam Wesołowski, thanked all the gathered conductors and congratulated the Silesian Philharmonic Orchestra, whose work and commitment were invaluable to the competition participants.

After the Director’s speech, the chairman of the jury, Patrick Fournillier, spoke and also thanked the orchestra, participants and all people working in organizing the competition. He also announced the results of the first stage of the 11th Grzegorz Fitelberg International Competition for Conductors. 

The following people were nominated for the second stage:

  • Simon Edelmann (Germany)
  • Maria Fuller (Canada)
  • Sukjong Kim (South Korea)
  • William Lai (Hong Kong)
  • Gyuseong Lee (South Korea)
  • Haoran Li (China)
  • Mikhail Mering (Israel)
  • Joonas Pitkänen (Finland)
  • Sergey Simakov (Germany)
  • Joanna Natalia Ślusarczyk (Poland)
  • Drummado Wijnhamer (Netherlands)
  • Jong-Jie Yin (China)

Photo by: Wojciech Mateusiak