The Schleswig Holstein Musik Festival 2015 Leonard Bernstein Award has been given to Krzysztof Urbański.
Nominated by leading figures of the international music scene (including Christoph Eschenbach, Zarin Mehta, Jamie Bernstein Thomas and Dr Christian Kuhnt), Urbański joins a prestigious line up of previous winners who include Lang Lang, Lisa Batiashvili, Martin Grubinger and Alisa Weilserstein.
In July Urbański appeared at the Schleswig Holstein Musik Festival for the third time, conducting the Akademie Orchester in a programme of Chopin’s concertos (with Jan Lisiecki) and Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring. The award was presented to him during the concert on July 17th.
Upon announcing the award, Festival Director, Dr Christian Kuhnt said: “The conductor Krzysztof Urbański already demonstrated what a great talent he is with his work at the 2013 Orchestra Academy. He impressed both the orchestra and audiences with his fiery passionate conducting. We are all pleased by the selection and want to offer our sincerest congratulations. Krzysztof Urbański is an exceptional artist who meets the high expectations of the renowned Leonard Bernstein Award 100 per cent.”