The winner takes it all: Salzburg hosts the final of the Herbert von Karajan Young Conductors Award

Three promising young conductors compete in a unique competition. They made it to the Herbert von Karajan Young Conductors Award finals in Salzburg.

Who will take home this prestigious award? In this episode of Musica, we experience the excitement up close, following the three young hopefuls as they prepare to conduct their own concert with their own programme at the final.

Tobias Wögerer is a conductor in residence at the Vienna Volksoper. The young Austrian spends every spare minute preparing for the most important moment of his career - the finals of the prestigious conducting competition.

"90% of the work and preparation as a conductor is just reading a lot about the pieces in the privacy of your room at your desk, thinking and trying it out," he told Musica. "But above all, you really have to think carefully about how you want it, that you really try to visualise it."

More than 300 young talents from around the world applied for the competition but only three made it to the finals: Tobias Wögerer, Vitali Alekseenok, and Hankyeol Yoon.

The South Korean conductor Hankyeol Yoon is a multifaceted artist who is also a composer.

"To inspire the musicians and communicate with them, I think that was and still is the biggest goal for me. And that's also what I enjoy the most," he revealed. "I think flexibility is quite important. And just understanding the atmosphere and then to adapt to that so that the musicians can then stay motivated."

"Technique is enormously important, but also the ability to motivate and inspire 100 musicians who play for you," said Manfred Honeck, who is chairman of the jury.

"We must also not forget that, after all, we can't speak during the concert. They can’t act like a football coach, I can't shout onto