Maazel-Vilar Conductor's Competition

The Maazel-Vilar Conductor's Competition was established in 2001 to identify the most talented young conductors and provide them with exceptional opportunities for career development. Reflecting the shared vision of its founders, conductor Lorin Maazel and philanthropist Alberto Vilar, the competition aims to fill a critical need in the musical world by nurturing a new generation of artistic leadership.

The competition is an international event. In 2001–02 it held six regional rounds worldwide, leading up to a final round at the Carnegie Hall in New York City in September 2002. At each stage, the candidates did not compete against each other for ranking by a jury, but rather were measured against a standard set to demonstrate outstanding potential. This open competitive process, under the guidance of Lorin Maazel, was designed to educate all of the participants about the breadth of skills a successful conductor must have and the rigorous training required to master those skills.

Founders

Lorin Maazel, who becomes music director of the New York Philharmonic in September 2002, has appeared regularly over the last half-century at the most prestigious concert halls and opera houses around the world, conducting more than 150 orchestras in more than 5,000 opera and concert performances. He has held the positions of artistic director of the Deustche Oper Berlin (1965-71), music director of the Cleveland Orchestra (1972-82), general manager of the Vienna State Opera (1982-84) and music director of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra (1988-96). In 1994 he became music director of the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra in Munich, a position he will hold through 2002. The year 2000 saw worldwide celebrations of Maestro Maazel's 70th birthday in such cities as London, Berlin, Vienna, New York, Chicago, Tokyo, Madrid, Rome, Milan, Munich and Paris. Many of these special concerts honored his musical achievements not only as a conductor, but also as a respected composer and violin virtuoso.

Alberto Vilar is the founder and president of Amerindo Investment Advisors, Inc., a leading technology investment firm. He is today's leading philanthropist of the performing arts and a major benefactor in the fields of healthcare and education. As part of his commitment to providing for the legacy of opera, classical music and ballet, he has a special interest in nurturing tomorrow's major artists by ensuring that they have the training and opportunities to realize their potential. In addition to being the principal benefactor of the Maazel/Vilar Conductors' Competition, he is the founder of the Vilar Young Artists Program at the Royal Opera House in London, the lead sponsor of the Metropolitan Opera's Young Artist Development Program in New York, and the founding supporter of young artists programs at the Los Angeles Opera and the Mariinsky (Kirov) Opera and Ballet in St. Petersburg, Russia. In 2001, he created the Alberto Vilar Global Fellows in the Performing Arts at New York University, modeled on the Rhodes Scholarships, and made a major gift to the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, in part to establish the Vilar Institute for Arts Management.