site.btaBrian Liao Wins Sofia International Conducting Competition

Brian Liao, a Taiwanese-French conductor based in Paris, won First Prize at the Sofia International Conducting Competition, held in the Bulgarian capital between February 22 and March 1. The winner was announced on Sunday evening after the final concert of the competition, hosted by the Sofia Philharmonic.

The other two finalists were Mauro Mariani (Italy) and Dorian Dimitrov (Bulgaria-Britain). The programme featured Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 5 in E minor, Op. 64 - first movement (Andante – Allegro con anima – Molto piu tranquillo), conducted by Mauro Mariani, and the fourth movement (Finale: Andante maestoso – Allegro vivace – Meno mosso), presented by Dorian Dimitrov. Brian Liao conducted the first movement of Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4 in F minor, Op. 36 (Andante sostenuto – Moderato con anima).

The jury awarded Second Prize to Mariani, who also received the Sofia Philharmonic Special Prize named after the conductor Sasha Popov (1899–1976). Dimitrov received the highest number of votes from the audience and was also awarded Third Prize by the jury.

The orchestra's Artistic Director Nayden Todorov commented: "One of the principal missions of the Sofia Philharmonic is to safeguard the future of music. We pursue this in various ways, seeking out the leading figures of the international music scene. For this reason, we organized this International Conducting Competition in Sofia - to discover the next generation of conductors whom we can welcome both on the concert platform and on the operatic stage." Todorov noted that over the course of a week the young conductors had worked with the Sofia Philharmonic on works from both the symphonic and operatic repertoire.

The jury was chaired by Bulgarian conducting art doyen Georgi Dimitrov and included distinguished musicians and managers representing leading European musical institutions.

Brian Liao (b. 1992) is a conductor of Taiwanese-French nationality based in Paris. He graduated from the Universitat Mozarteum Salzburg in Austria, and his professional career has included engagements with the Zagreb Philharmonic, Russian National Orchestra, Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra, Spanish National Television Orchestra (ORTVE) and Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, among other European and Asian ensembles. He is the laureate of numerous international competitions, including First Prize at the International Conducting Competition "Lliria City of Music" (Spain, 2023), along with awards from competitions in Italy, Britain and Romania.

The Sofia International Conducting Competition brings together young conductors from around the world, establishing the city as a platform for artistic exchange, professional development and the discovery of new creative talent. Following a preliminary international selection process involving hundreds of applicants, twelve finalists were chosen to take part in a series of competition rounds, conducting the Sofia Philharmonic and the National Philharmonic Choir. The programme spanned repertoire from the Classical period to 20th-century music and included a Bulgarian work.