Second Preliminary Round Report

●Report

Nine of a total of 18 contestants advanced from the first preliminary round to the second preliminary round. Three were from overseas, six were Japanese, and two were women. They had diverse career backgrounds, ranging from student to professional conductor. The second preliminary round involved conducting the rehearsal of three pieces. Each contestant had a total of 25 minutes in which to conduct the first half of the first movement and the end of the third movement to the beginning of the fourth movement of Schumann’s Symphony No. 1, and the first and second movements of Bartók’s Dance Suite. After a break, they each had 15 minutes to conduct the first half of the first movement of the Violin Concerto by Sibelius, for which the orchestra was joined by soloist Tomoko KAWADA. The contestants, together with the orchestra and soloist, created characteristically different music for each of the three pieces. Sometimes an entire piece would be conducted in one go, while at other times, the orchestra would be stopped midway to ask for changes. The Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra’s agile response to the conductors’ instructions and Kawada’s unfaltering performance as the solo violinist were magnificent. In this round, the contestants’ skill in handling romantic symphonies, modern dances, and concertos was tested.

 

Evaluation of the performance of contestants who went on to the next round (by Michishita Kyoko, Music Critic)

 

●No.68 Kornilios Viktor MICHAILIDIS

Kornilios was born in Greece in 1989. He is a professional conductor who has performed with well-known orchestras in Europe. He has conducted several performances at the Teatro Real in Madrid, including productions of The "Magic Flute" and "Nixon in China". Kornilios conducted in a dynamic and lively manner to create highly expressive music infused with his own sensibilities. His reading of the score was meticulous, and he created vividly colorful music that had a three-dimensional quality to it. He skillfully brought out the unpretentious and uninhibited qualities of Bartók’s music as well as the hidden passion in Sibelius’ concerto.



●No.124 Ayano YOSHIZAKI

Ayano is enrolled in the Graduate School of Tokyo University of the Arts. Last year, she received training as a conductor for the Kioi Hall Chamber Orchestra Tokyo. Her meticulous conducting and careful instructions were impressive. In the first movement of Schumann’s Symphony No. 1, the sound had a dark, heavy quality to it, and the tempo of the music flagged. She corrected this with the instruction “It sounds a bit dark, please brighten it up,” after which the flow of the music improved. Even the audience could sense Ayano’s commitment to precise baton movement and creating a balanced sound.

●No.171 Hiroki OKAZAKI



Having graduated from the Department of Vocal Music, Tokyo University of the Arts, Hiroki is currently enrolled in the university’s Department of Conducting. His passion for the music came through in his conducting. In Schumann’ Symphony No. 1, he stopped the orchestra midway and gave detailed instructions on the dynamics, repeating these instructions until he achieved a sound close to his ideal. His instructions were easy to understand, and after his instructions to the orchestra on sound balance and how to play tenuto in the Sibelius concerto, the performance had better modulation than before. Hiroki’s communication skills as a conductor were excellent.



●No.209 Riley Holden COURT-WOOD

Riley was born in England in 1997. He was the resident conductor of the Muscat Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in Oman until 2023, and is currently with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. Riley conducted the orchestra in a lively manner. His conducting was clear, and he introduced a graceful pulse to the music during passionate moments in the first movement of Schumann’s Symphony No. 1. In the third movement, again, he carefully brought out Schumann’s complex emotions. The music he created was full of humanity. There was a clear difference in the orchestra’s performance under his direction.

●The soloist for the assigned piece：Ms. Tomoko Kawada







●No.56 KIKO Erika




●No.90 TAKAHASHI Tatsuma




●No.106 KANNARI Daiki




●No.156 Nikita SOROKIN




●No.176 MURAKAMI Fumitaka