« Il y a des lieux où la musique s’intègre naturellement dans le décor, Besançon est de ceux-là ».
Bernard Gavoty, Le Figaro, 25 septembre 1948
78th Festival
The Festival will take place from 12 to 27 September 2025.
The 78th Festival program will be unveiled at its presentation evening on 12 June.
A look back at the previous edition
59th Competition
Final rounds from 22 to 27 September 2025
The Besançon Competition is open to all candidates under the age of 35 who wish to become professional conductors, whatever their background, training or experience. It is the only conducting competition in the world that does not select on the basis of a portfolio (paper or video) but through live auditions.
Candidates will be able to register between 16 and 23 January 2025, subject to a limit of 300 places available for the preliminaries. During this first stage, which will take place behind closed doors in the spring of 2025, the candidates will be asked to conduct symphonic works played by two pianists (on two pianos), in front of two members of the jury.
At the end of the pre-selections, twenty candidates will be admitted to the final rounds with orchestra in September and in public, which will take place during the 78th Besançon International Music Festival.