Hankyeol Yoon wins Salzburg Festival Young Conductors Award
Florence Lockheart
Wednesday, August 9, 2023
The South Korean conductor impressed the competition jury with his performance with the Camerata Salzburg earlier this week
Hankyeol Yoon has been announced as the winner of the Salzburg Festival's 2023 Herbert von Karajan Young Conductors Award (YCA). Yoon wins a cash prize of €15,000 plus the opportunity to conduct a Festival concert with the ORF Radio Symphony Orchestra Vienna which will be recorded and released by Salzburg Festival.
The competition, which takes place every two years, marks its 11th edition this year. The 2023 competition received a total of 323 applications from 54 nations. Yoon impressed a jury chaired by Manfred Honeck with his performance leading the Camerata Salzburg. The South Korean conductor joins a legacy of previous YCA winners including Aziz Shokhakimov and Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla.
Jury chairman Manfred Honeck said: ‘The three finalists chose the programme themselves, demonstrating their talent in no less than three rehearsals plus the concert. Therefore, the jury had the opportunity to observe the candidates extensively and gain a comprehensive picture of their work… It is abundantly clear that encouraging young artists is very important to the Salzburg Festival. The decision was not easy. Each in their own and very different way, the candidates delivered outstanding work. One important aspect they all share is that they put themselves at the service of music.’
Born in Daegu, South Korea, Yoon studied conducting, composition and piano at the Munich Academy of Music and Theatre. He adds this latest triumph to a long list of previous accolades including being the youngest winner of the Gstaad Menuhin Festival’s Neeme Järvi Prize and recent debuts with the Bern Symphony Orchestra and the Busan Philharmonic Orchestra.
Yoon said: ‘Quite apart from the prize, even performing on this August stage of the renowned Salzburg Festival during the Herbert von Karajan Young Conductors Award is an extremely great honour and joy. To give a concert for some of the people who have been most important for my musical development, such a distinguished jury and this wonderful audience with such a great orchestra is an incredibly joy.’
