Success for Weimar Conductors' Forge
Niklas Benjamin Hoffmann wins international conducting competition in Zagreb
The final of the 8th International Conducting Competition "Lovro von Matačić" in Zagreb (Croatia) was won by a graduate of the "Weimar Conductor's Forge": Niklas Benjamin Hoffmann won the first prize of 10,000 euros and the special prize of the Croatian Radio Symphony Orchestra last weekend.
The prizes are linked to follow-up concerts with the Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra, which also played at the competition, with the Rijeka Symphony Orchestra, the Silesian Philharmonic Orchestra Katowice and an engagement with the Croatian Radio Symphony Orchestra.
"I am very happy especially for Niklas Benjamin Hoffmann. It is the second major international competition he has won - after 'Donatella Flick' in London. For him personally, this is a great confirmation and encouragement to continue to pursue his conducting path with the same single-mindedness as before. And the prize remains "in Weimar", so to speak, since the last winner in Zagreb was our student Valentin Egel," his former conducting professor Nicolás Pasquet is pleased to say.
"It is great that his exuberant emotion and creative empathy were appreciated by the orchestra and jury alike," adds his colleague, conducting professor Ekhart Wycik.
"I am incredibly happy about this success," says Niklas Benjamin Hoffmann. "It was an incredibly intense week of competition and I am filled with gratitude that my energy and musical visions were so accepted by the orchestra and the jury! I am very proud of the atmosphere that the Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra and I achieved in the concert. It was one of the most emotional concert experiences for me so far"
A total of 183 applicants applied for the 8th "Lovro von Matačić Conducting Competition", 18 of whom were invited to Zagreb.
The Deparment of Conducting and Opera Correpetition at the University of Music FRANZ LISZT Weimar thus continues its series of successes. Most recently, Giuseppe Mengoli won 1st prize at the Gustav Mahler Conducting Competition in Bamberg in the summer of 2023, and last weekend - at the same time as Niklas Hoffmann - Weimar Master's student Swann van Rechem secured the Grand Prix, Audience Prize and Special Prize at the 58th International Conducting Competition in Besançon (France).
"For me personally, Swann van Rechem's success is very moving because I won the 37th edition of this competition in 1987 and since then Swann is the very first student of our class to 'knock me off the podium'. I am very happy for Swann and proud of him," says Prof Nicolás Pasquet.
"Awesome. Something like this only happens once in a blue moon," says Prof. Ekhart Wycik. "Three first prizes from international competitions in two months. We are very grateful for the work with wonderful young conductors - it inspires and gives us strength to continue!"
Niklas Benjamin Hoffmann first attracted international attention when he won the Donatella Flick & LSO Conducting Competition in London in 2016. He subsequently became Assistant Conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra and is now a sought-after guest conductor in Europe.
He studied orchestral conducting at the Hochschule für Musik FRANZ LISZT Weimar with Prof. Nicolás Pasquet, Prof. Gunter Kahlert, Martin Hoff, Markus Frank and Prof. Ekhart Wycik and conducted professional orchestras such as the Jena Philharmonic, the Orchestra of the Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk Leipzig and the Staatskapelle Weimar during his studies. He was also Artistic Director of the Göttingen Academic Orchestra Association and a scholarship holder of the Conducting Forum of the German Music Council.
In his position with the London Symphony Orchestra he worked closely with all guest and principal conductors such as Sir Simon Rattle, Bernard Haitink and Fabio Luisi and also conducted his own concerts. Since then, invitations as guest conductor have taken him to the Haydn Orchestra Bolzano, the Folkwang Chamber Orchestra Essen, the Aarhus Symphony Orchestra, the St. Petersburg Symphony Orchestra, the Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz and the Orchestra della Toscana in Florence, among others.
In addition to his enthusiasm for the works of classical literature, he is also active as a composer and is committed to the development of new concert formats. He has already worked with the STEGREIF.orchestra and founded the "Ensemble Momentum" in 2018: following his vision to break new ground and create unique concert experiences with interdisciplinary concepts and music at the highest level. Since then, the ensemble has already performed at festivals such as the Detect Classic Festival, the Fuchsbau Festival and at the Thüringer Bachwochen as part of the new concert series "Bach Forward".
[27 September 2023]