Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester

14/04/2026

MAXIMILIAN BEER IS CONCERTMASTER OF THE GUSTAV MAHLER JUGENDORCHESTER

MAXIMILIAN BEER, born in Berlin in 2003, has won the audition for the concertmaster position of the GUSTAV MAHLER JUGENDORCHESTER.

A prominent jury chaired by Prof. HELMUT ZEHETNER, Head of Strings of the GMJO and former member of the Vienna Philharmonic / Wiener Philharmoniker, and with Prof. HUBERT KROISAMER, also Vienna Philharmonic / Wiener Philharmoniker, and FRANZ-MARKUS SIEGERT, rso.wien, has chosen Maximilian Beer from a total of 14 admitted candidates in the first round and 6 candidates in the second round, during an intense audition day at our partner university MDW - Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Wien.

Previously a member of the GMJO himself (2023), Maximilian Beer was educated at the Musikgymnasium Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, where he studied as a pre-college student under Prof. Stephan Picard and Prof. Tomasz Tomaszewski. He began his bachelor’s studies with Prof. Sarah Christian and Prof. Friederike Starkloff at the hmdk_stuttgart.

Since 2025, he has been studying at the hannseislerberlin with Byol Kang. He is a multiple first-prize winner at jugend_musiziert and the winner of the Stockholm International Music Competition.

He gained orchestral experience with, among others, the bjo.deutschland (German National Youth Orchestra), the Schleswig-Holstein Festival Orchestra, and the Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester.

In the 2023/24 season, Maximilian Beer was an intern with the SWR Symphonieorchester and performed with the hr-Sinfonieorchester - Frankfurt Radio Symphony and the staatsorchesterstuttgart under conductors such as Sir Simon Rattle and Kirill Petrenko. Since 2025, he has been an Academist at the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin (DSO Berlin).

Maximilian Beer plays a violin by Tomaso Eberle (1770).

Bravo and welcome (back) to the GMJO, dear Maximilian! We are very much looking forward to working with you.

And a great bravo to all other candidates and finalists, too! The level of this concertmaster audition was very high.

Photo credits:
Deutsche Stiftung Musikleben, Jann Wilken; Archiv GMJO

24/02/2026

GMJO CONCERTMASTER AUDITION

The GUSTAV MAHLER JUGENDORCHESTER is holding auditions for the position of concertmaster, starting with the Summer Tour 2026. This position is designed for a duration of 2 to 3 years, details to be individually agreed.

Applicants with European citizenship who were born between 01.01.2001 and 06.08.2008 are eligible to apply for the position. In addition to outstanding musical and technical abilities, applicants should have substantial orchestral experience, leadership qualities, and a high sense of responsibility.

🎻 Audition: 13 April 2026, Vienna (Austria)
🗓️ Application Deadline: 22 March 2026

For further information on the conditions of participation and the application procedure: gmjo.at

10/02/2026

SELECTED GMJO MUSICIANS ON TOUR WITH THE STAATSKAPELLE DRESDEN: DRESDEN AND SEOUL

After some intensive research, we have found this review on the concert at the Seoul Arts Center from 1.2.2026:

Yunchan Lim seldom seeks the spotlight in a reflective, conversational account of Schumann's Piano Concerto, conducted by Myung-whun Chung.

07/02/2026

SELECTED GMJO MUSICIANS ON TOUR WITH THE STAATSKAPELLE DRESDEN: DRESDEN AND SEOUL

10 selected musicians of the GMJO were invited by the Staatskapelle Dresden to go on tour to Dresden and Seoul / South Corea, and to perform in 6 concerts, alongside their professional colleagues, with conductor MYUNG-WHUN CHUNG and with pianist YUNCHAN LIM:

Violin 1
Balthasar Thom
Rebecca Tillmanns

Violin 2
Eline de Vries
Héloïse Lecoustey

Viola
Lorenzo Matteo Giannotti
Davide Pizzo

Cello
Rafael Arreghini
Bernardo Ferreira

Double Bass
Lluc Osca Ribera
Alessandro Spada

They all received individual coaching from the section leaders of the Staatskapelle Dresden.

After the initial concert at the Dresdner Philharmonie - also this being part of the partnership - , they embarked to Seoul for 5 concerts at the Lotte Concert Hall, the Pyeong Taek Arts Center - for its opening concert - and the Seoul Arts Center.

For all participants, this was an unforgettable project, and the GMJO musicians made a lasting impression, some of them being immediately invited to participate in upcoming auditions of the Staatskapelle Dresden.

Our thanks for this wonderful project go to the board, the section leaders and to all musicians and staff of the Staatskapelle Dresden - and to the Dresdner Philharmonie for hosting the initial concert and for providing 2 double basses for the GMJO musicians.

Enjoy the great photos from Oliver Killig
www.instagram.com/oliver.killig/

30/01/2026

ANGELO FOLETTO 1949 - 2026

Last night, the doyen of Italy‘s music journalists, ANGELO FOLETTO, passed, aged 76 years.

Angelo Foletto was not only the main music critic of la Repubblica, he was also writing for many classical music magazines. He was a highly esteemed lecturer, radio presenter and organiser of the prestigious Premio Abbiati .

Long before musical outreach became a fashionable activity in the music industry, Angelo Foletto presented, explained and introduced classical music and artists to a broad audience, because he was credibly talking and writing about music and artists, and not about himself.

He wrote numerous thoughtful books, amongst others on CARLO MARIA GIULINI, MAURIZIO POLLINI and recently on CLAUDIO ABBADO.

At a symposium on CLAUDIO ABBADO in Rome in 2024, he was talking about the rich heritage of CLAUDIO ABBADO and was so right in putting the focus on what was really important to this great artist: working with and supporting young musicians. Angelo Foletto really understood and respected CLAUDIO ABBADO and was therefore the right person to talk about him and his legacy.

In his role for the music life in Italy and beyond, Angelo Foletto was widely respected and loved by artists, orchestras, his students, his colleagues and by audiences alike. It is a rare and right gesture that tonight’s concert of the Filarmonica della Scala under RICCARDO CHAILLY is dedicated to his memory.

R.I.P., dear Angelo.

Please read this obituary in la Repubblica:

https://milano.repubblica.it/cronaca/2026/01/30/news/angelo_foletto_morto_critico_musicale_repubblica-425127648/amp/

24/01/2026

SELECTED GMJO MUSICIANS PERFORM WITH THE STAATSKAPELLE DRESDEN IN DRESDEN AND SEOUL

A friend from the Philharmonie just sent us this review on the cooperation concert with the Staatskapelle Dresden at the Dresden Kulturpalast (behind paywall):

Ein fast perfekter Abend: Beim Sonderkonzert der Sächsischen Staatskapelle Dresden im Kulturpalast gab es gut was auf die Ohren.

22/01/2026

SELECTED GMJO MUSICIANS PERFORM WITH THE STAATSKAPELLE DRESDEN IN DRESDEN AND SEOUL

In continuation of the partnership between the Staatskapelle Dresden and the GUSTAV MAHLER JUGENDORCHESTER, 10 selected musicians of the GMJO were invited to perform, alongside their professional colleagues, in a special concert at the Philharmonie im Kulturpalast yesterday with conductor MYUNG-WHUN CHUNG and with pianist YUNCHAN LIM:

Violin 1
Balthasar Thom
Rebecca Tillmanns

Violin 2
Eline de Vries
Héloïse Lecoustey

Viola
Lorenzo Matteo Giannotti
Davide Pizzo

Cello
Rafael Arreghini
Bernardo Ferreira

Double Bass
Lluc Osca Ribera
Alessandro Spada

They will now embark on a short tour with the Staatskapelle Dresden for 5 concerts in Seoul, South Corea, starting next week.

Special thanks go to the musicians from the Staatskapelle Dresden who welcomed and coached their colleagues from the GMJO, and to GMJO Double Bass Tutor ANDREAS WYLEZOL as well as to MARTIN BÜLOW, Deputy Director of the Philharmonie, for providing two double basses for the GMJO musicians.

Photo Credit: Alessandro Tommasi / GMJO

24/12/2025

The GMJO 2025 auditions are over!

With over 50 days of auditions, almost 30 cities and 25 countries, the audition process is finally coming to an end!

We’d like to take this chance to thank all the dozens of local partners, freelancers and the thousands of musicians who applied to the auditions.

Now it will be up to the juries for the selection of the orchestra: keep following us to receive updates on our 2026 projects and to find out who’s going to be the next Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester!

02/12/2025

GMJO AUDITIONS - LAST DATES

The 2025 GMJO Auditions are coming to an end!

These are the last two dates for percussion:
🇩🇪 Berlin - 14.12.25
🇦🇹 Vienna - 17.12.25

🔗 Don’t lose your chance to be part of the GMJO, apply for free on auditions.gmjo.at!

28/11/2025

GMJO AUDITIONS - FIRST PERCUSSION DATES

The GMJO Percussion auditions are finally on their way!
Here you can find the first two dates:

🇨🇭 Zurich - 10.12.25
🇳🇱 Amsterdam - 12.12.25

🔗 Last days to apply for free on auditions.gmjo.at

21/11/2025

GMJO AUDITIONS - LAST DATES

The last auditions for all instruments but percussion are on their way. Do not miss us in the following cities:

🇳🇴 Oslo - 5.12.25
🇦🇹 Vienna - 5.-8.12.25
🇩🇰 Copenhagen - 6.12.25

🔗 Apply for free to be part of the GMJO 2026 on auditions.gmjo.at!