Frédéric Chaslin – President of the Jury

"In between performances of 'La Boheme' at the National Opera of Bucharest, it was a pleasure and an honor to be the president of the jury of the International Conducting Competition for Opera 'Constantin Silvestri'.

The level was very high and it was extremely difficult to choose between the three candidates for the final round; so congratulations to first prize winner David Schlager (Austria) second prize winner, So Matsukawa (Japan) and third prize winner Justin Pambianchi (Canada).

Jury members and organizers: National Opera of Bucharest, Arnaud Arbet, Vlad Conta, Ethan Schmeisser, Daniel Jinga, Daniel Magdal, Iosef I. Prunner."

Iosef Ion Prunner - President of the Constantin Silvestri Foundation, Jury Member

"The 2nd edition of the 'Constantin Silvestri' Conducting Competition was an extraordinary success due to the close collaboration between the Constantin Silvestri Foundation and the Bucharest National Opera.
I can’t thank enough to all the musicians, soloists and choir members who professionally supported the three rehearsals of an extremely difficult competition. Thanks so much for maestro Daniel Jinga – the general manager of the Bucharest Opera, also for the artistic director of the Opera, maestro Daniel Magdal. I thank the Honorary Committee of the Contest: conductors - Lawrence Foster, Cristian Mandeal and Jean-Claude Casadesus, composers Dan Dediu and Adrian Iorgulescu.
The artistic level of the contestants presented in the contest was commensurate with the grandeur and importance that Constantin Silvestri represents at the level of world conducting art.
I really appreciate the members of the jury, whose president was Frédéric Chaslin, for the science, tact and patience with which they examined the competitors and for the responsibility with which they appointed the finalists. For the first time in a competition of this kind, the members of the orchestra and the choir had their own vote that counted in the final designation of the winners."

Ethan Schmeisser - Jury Member

"The Constantin Silvestri International Conducting Competition was for a deep professional experience.
The chosen repertoire, the planning of the stages for the participants, the professional demands watched by the jury, and maybe most important - the level of involvement and cooperation from the artists of the Bucharest National Opera who is a partner in the competition - all this ensured picking up superb conductors for the finals and exposed without any doubt their talent and abilities to the world.
I’m sure their discovery here in the competition would serve as a good launch for successful careers, and that is a great achievement of the competition and its organisers."

Arnaud Arbet - Jury Member

"The Constantin Silvestri International Conducting Competition has the peculiarity to be entirely dedicated to the repertoire of the opera: the candidates conduct rehearsals with solo singers, pianists corepetitors, choirs (big mixed choir and children choir), and finally with orchestra.
During the Finale, they make a real concert in the big hall of the Opera of Bucharest.
The participants have the unique possibility to conduct the excellent musicians of the opera of Bucharest, not only the soloists of the ensemble, but also the pianists, choirs and orchestra. All the musicians are entirely involved to give their best with all the participants, which creates a very positive and encouraging energy.
The repertoire goes from Mozart to Schönberg and Enescu, in a very wide spectrum of styles.
Conducting an opera needs an enormous amount of knowledge and a deep understanding of the art of singing and acting on stage. The candidates must master several languages, be able to sing all the parts of the soloists and be able to convince their musicians at the same time.
In the end, the potential seen in some candidates leads to keeping them to the Finale and giving them the prizes. We wish these young conductors all the best in their career, at the opera and at the concert."