COMPETITION RULES AND REGULATIONS – INTRODUCTION

GENERAL CONDITIONS

The 8th International Competition of Young Conductors COMPETITION ROUNDS AND A FINAL CONCERT
Lovro von Matačić will be held in Zagreb, Croatia, in the
Vatroslav Lisinski Concert Hall, from 17–22 September FIRST ROUND
2023, with the Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra. There will No limit is placed on the number of applicants. During the
be four rounds of the Competition, along with the final first round of the Competition, applicants compete on the
concert when the results of the Competition will be an- basis of the audio-visual recordings of their performances
nounced. that will be assessed by the jury of the Competition.
The jury will then choose 24 applicants for the second
JURY PANEL round of the Competition. The decision of the jury is final
Antoni Wit, chairman and will be officially announced. There will be a backup
Valentin Egel list of priority substitute applicants in the event of the
Zoran Juranić withdrawal of one or more applicants. This list will be
Sreten Krstić publicly available by 1 June 2023.
Uroš Lajovic
Dawid Runtz
Leo Samama SECOND ROUND
A maximum of 24 applicants will advance to the second
APPLICATION round of the Competition, according to the decision of
AGE LIMIT the jury. Applicants advancing to the second round of the
This Competition is open to applicants born in 1988 or Competition will be notified by email no later than 1 June
later. 2023. Applicants advancing to the second round must
confirm their participation no later than 5 June 2023. If
APPLICATIONS MAY BE SUBMITTED STARTING ON 15 an applicant cancels their participation before the above
FEBRUARY 2023 mentioned date, the jury will invite to the second round of
Deadline 1 May 2023 the Competition the applicant(s) from the backup list of
Applications for the Competition must be submitted priority substitutes. Once the above deadline expires, the
through the muvac platform. list of applicants for the second round will not be subject
You n g Con d u ctors Lovro von Matači ć

to change. Applicants will be assessed by a jury composed

APPLICATION FEE 100 EUR of 7 members. In the event of a justified absence of one
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or more jury members, the Competition Management

If an applicant decides not to enter the Competition, the
application fee paid will not be reimbursed.
shall be entitled to appoint a substitute jury member. The
Competition will be held in Zagreb in the Vatroslav Lisinski
Concert Hall starting on 17 September 2023. Applicants
must report to the Competition Administration Office from
17 September 2023 in person, with a document confirming
their identity, between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. The order of
applicants will be decided by random draw in front of the
24 applicants and the jury at the opening ceremony held in
the Vatroslav Lisinski Concert Hall on 17 September 2023
at 6 p.m. and will be posted on the official website and the
bulletin board at the Competition Administration Office no
later than 12 hours before the start of the Competition.
 THE PROGRAM FOR THE SECOND ROUND OF THE
COMPETITION
The candidates will perform a mandatory work and one
work from the list of required works.
MANDATORY WORK
C. M. von Weber: Oberon, Overture, J. 306
REQUIRED WORKS
W. A. Mozart: The Magic Flute, Overture, K. 620
L. van Beethoven: Leonora Overture No. 3, Op. 72b
F. Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 4 in A major, Op. 90,
Italian
F. Liszt: Les préludes, S. 97
B. Smetana: Vltava (The Moldau)
A. Dvořák: Carnival Overture, Op. 92
Candidates will random draw one work from the list of
the required works. Each candidate may decide for
themselves the order of works to be performed in the
second round. Each candidate will be given 20 minutes
for the second round of the Competition. The jury shall
have the irrevocable right to curtail the performance or to
decide on its continuation.
THE THIRD ROUND
Based on the jury’s decision, 10 candidates will advance
to the third round of the Competition.
THE PROGRAM FOR THE THIRD ROUND OF THE
COMPETITION
All candidates will perform three mandatory works from
the list.
MANDATORY WORKS
D. Pejačević: Symphony in F-sharp minor, Op. 41
W. Lutosławski: Concerto for Orchestra
W. A. Mozart: Ma che vi fece, o stelle…Sperai vicino il
lido, K. 368
Each candidate may decide for themselves the order of
works to be performed in the third round. Each candidate
will be given 30 minutes for the third round of the
Competition. The jury shall have the irrevocable right to
curtail the performance or to decide on its continuation.
THE FOURTH ROUND
Based on the jury’s decision, 6 candidates will advance to
the fourth round of the Competition.
Participants in the fourth round will be provided with
hotel accommodations with breakfast by the Organizer
until the end of the Competition.
THE PROGRAM FOR THE FOURTH ROUND OF THE
COMPETITION
You n g Con d u ctors Lovro von Matači ć
The candidates will perform a mandatory work and one
work from the list of the required works.
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MANDATORY WORK
B. Bjelinski: Divertimento for Orchestra
REQUIRED WORKS
R. Wagner: Tristan und Isolde, Prelude and Liebestod
(Love Death)
C. Debussy: La mer, trois esquisses symphoniques pour
orchestre
R. Strauss: Suite from Der Rosenkavalier, Op. 59
Candidates will random draw one work from the list of
the required works. Each candidate may decide for
themselves the order of works to be performed in the
fourth round. Each candidate will be given 50 minutes
for the fourth round of the Competition. The jury shall
have the irrevocable right to curtail the performance or to
decide on its continuation.
THE FINAL CONCERT
Based on the jury’s decision, 3 candidates will advance to
the final concert.
At the final concert, the candidates will perform one
of the required works from the fourth round of the
Competition, to be determined by the jury. The winner
of the Competition and the order of the finalists will be
determined after the final concert based on the number
of points in the fourth round.
Additionally, after the performance of the three finalists,
one candidate from the fourth round who won the special
prize for the best performance of a Croatian composition
(the mandatory work from the fourth round), as decided
by the jury, will perform it.
The final concert will be recorded and broadcast by the
Croatian Radiotelevision and will be open to the public.
The list of score publishers will be available in February
2023. The scores of Croatian composers will be
available for download to the registered candidates.
PRIZES
GOLD WINNER – THE 1st PRIZE
10.000 EUR
3 concerts (or more, with the Symphony Orchestra)
The Competition Diploma
The 2nd prize
2 concerts (or more, with the Symphony Orchestra)
The Competition Diploma
The 3rd prize
1 concert (or more, with the Symphony/Chamber
Orchestra)
The Competition Diploma
The Croatian Composers’ Society will award a special
prize for the best performance of Bruno Bjelinski’s
Divertimento for orchestra.
All other finalists will receive the Competition Diploma.
THE FINAL PROVISIONS
The international jury has the irrevocable right to decide
on:
awarding of the 1st, the 2nd and the 3rd prizes of the
Competition, not awarding one or more prizes, or sharing
one or more prizes among two or more candidates from
the fourth round. The jury’s decisions are final and cannot
be appealed.
The Competition Management has the right to record
or broadcast the Competition on radio or TV in whole
or in part, to release CDs or video recordings thereof.
Candidates will not be entitled to any royalties therefrom.
The winner of the Competition (the 1st prize winner) will
not be eligible to compete in any future Competitions of
Young Conductors Lovro von Matačić. In the event that any
disputes regarding the interpretation of the Competition
Rules and Regulations arise, the version of the Rules and
Regulations in Croatian will prevail. The competent court
for any settlement of disputes will be the court in Zagreb.
 THE PROGRAM COMMITTEE
Tonči Bilić
Zoran Juranić
Dawid Runtz

THE COMPETITION PRODUCTION

Tonči Bilić
Josip Nalis
Tina Cota

CONTACT
The Lovro & Lilly Matačić Foundation
Trg S. Radića 4
10000 Zagreb
Croatia
lovrovonmatacic@gmail.com

Lovro von Matačić and his legacy

Matačić can show music emerging from the overall
human nature, vast and deep, warm and limitless,
and the impression is so strong that it makes the
entire body and soul vibrates to the very roots.

(Philharmonic, 1967)

Lovro von Matačić (1899-1985) used a single word to

describe his versatile artistic personality: musician.
Having acquired the necessary knowledge in Vienna,
his broad spirit led him away from Zagreb, Ljubljana
and Belgrade to the concert and opera stages of
Paris, Florence, Milan, Bayreuth, Berlin, London,
Tokyo... He conducted the Philharmonic Orchestras
of Berlin, Czech Republic, and Munich, recorded for
labels such as Columbia and Supraphon, performed
in the Bavarian State Opera, with the Dresden State
Chapel, in the Operas of Chicago and Rome, in
the Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires, the Musikverein
in Vienna, in the Museum Concerts in Frankfurt,
led the National Opera Orchestra of Monte Carlo,
and many more. This list also includes the Zagreb
Philharmonic Orchestra, with which he launched the
Presenting Young Conductors series. In addition to
his favorites, Anton Bruckner and Richard Wagner,
Lovro Matačić’s interests encompassed a vast
repertoire, including Croatian music which he always
featured in the global orchestral repertoire.

Croatian and European music will mainly remember

his greatness and significance in the conducting
realm, while the young artists will learn about the
maestro’s legacy and character mostly through the
work of the Lovro and Lilly Matačić Foundation.
You n g Con d u ctors Lovro von Matači ć

At the behest of both Lovro Matačić and his wife

Lilly, the Foundation was founded in 1987 with
8th I nternationa l Com petition of

the aim of helping and supporting talented young

conductors in Croatia and abroad. As a non-profit
organization, the Foundation aims to commemorate
Lovro Matačić through a wide array of activities:
publishing, organizing concerts, cultural events,
lectures, masterclasses and seminars, in addition
to hosting the international competition of young
conductors every four years (since 1995) as an
event of global importance worthy of the artist
whose name it shares, enabling young generations
of musicians to participate on the international
conducting stage.