Much more than a competition: the 2025 ICCR Rotterdam

The second edition of the International Conducting Competition Rotterdam (ICCR)  began  with the semi-finals in June 2024 followed by a year-long career development programme for six selected conductors. These six then had to conduct five separate rounds with various themes, ranging from classical to contemporary, from opera to great symphonic works during the final rounds from 1 to 13 June 2025.

During the classical round, the six conductors each presented a 20-minute program together with the Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century. This was followed by the Contemporary Round, where they all had to conduct the Rolls Royce among contemporary music ensembles: Klangforum Wien. On the program: three works by Beat Furrer, Enno Poppe and Karlheinz Stockhausen (written for Klangforum) as well as a world premiere of a new work by rising star Mathilde Wantenaar.

Next in the calendar was a free entrance open air concert: the Proms. The six conductors were given a free hand to put together a program with only three conditions: there had to be a personal story, it had to be accessible to a wide audience and it had to include a work by a female composer.

In the ultimate text for the six finalists, they not only had to work with the Rotterdam Philharmonic, but also with the Laurens Symphony Chorus and five singers of the IVC/ International Vocal Competition of ´s-Hertogenbosch. Each conductor presented a 20-minute selection from Tosca, Turdandot, Madame Butterfly and Gianni Schicchi.

Finally, the grand finale, in which the six designated winners – Luis Castillo-Briceño, Yukuang Jin, Jakub Przybycień, Rodrigo Sámano Albarrán, Miguel Sepúlveda and Sam Weller – showed what they had to offer during a spectacular final concert with the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra. A unique opportunity for the audience to experience how different conductors give their own twist an orchestra and to their music.