Final of the 57th Competition

After four days of intense Competition, and at the end of the Final between Jong-Jie Yon (Chinese, 21 years old), Deun Lee (South Korean, 32 years old) and Chloé Dufresne (French, 29 years old), the jury chose to award three “special mentions”.
After lengthy deliberations, the jury unanimously decided not to award a Grand Prix this year, considering that the diversity of the finalists’ qualities made it impossible to decide between them.

This is not the first time in the history of the Competition, in 2003 the jury, chaired by Matthias Bamert, did not award a Grand Prix, judging that year that the level of the candidates was insufficient.

Paul Daniel, the president of the jury, underlined the qualities of each candidate:

• Jong-Jie Yin, the youngest of the Finalists, had a very good mastery of the music, considering his young age (21).
• Deun Lee’s enthusiasm and communication with the artists – especially during the singing rounds – in addition to his regularity throughout the competition.
• The originality and freshness of Chloé Dufresne’s conducting intentions, and especially her very good understanding of Camille Pépin’s work in creation.

On Saturday 18 September at the Ledoux Theatre, the three finalists conducted the Orchestre national de Lyon in Jean Sibelius’ Symphony n°5 op.82, after Camille Pépin’s (composer in residence at the Festival) world premiere, Aux confins de l’Orage (commissioned by the Festival).

The special mentions are endowed with :

• 3 000 €
• a LIP watch
• work opportunities with possible engagements with the Competition’s partner orchestras and festivals