In 2009, Nestlé and Salzburg Festival launched their Young Conductors Award with the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra to provide highly gifted young conductors with a valuable boost in their career. This year the initiative was continued, and the panel of experts selected the new winner, 27-year old David Afkham from Germany.

“The discovery and inclusion of young conductors in the programme of the Salzburg Festival is an important element for me,” said Markus Hinterhäuser, Artistic Director of the Salzburg Festival, on the motivation to create this prize as part of the Salzburg Festival. This award reflects the long-standing partnership between Nestlé and the Festival of over 20 years, dedicated in particular to the recognition of gifted young conductors. This year the jury of nine chose the grand winner from a range of 81 candidates aged between 22 and 35 in a multi-stage selection process.

David Afkham is Assistant Conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra, a post he has held since winning the 2008 International Donatella Flick Conducting Competition. He is also Assistant Conductor for the Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester and is a Conductor Fellow with the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

The prize includes a sum of 15,000 euros. The winner also conducted a concert with the Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester on 14 August 2010, which is a great honor itself. Aside from the classical-romantic repertoire, there is a special focus on the interpretation of contemporary music, with this year’s concert program also reflecting this focus. David Afkham himself was responsible for selecting the pieces.