All Conductors of Eurovision

02/06/2026

Lucien Lavoute (1935-2017) was a Parisian pianist and arranger who unfortunately never made it to the Eurovision stage. As an orchestrator, he worked with the likes of Jacques Hustin, Pierre Perrin, and Tino Rossi. Here he is showcasing his talent in an excellent arrrangement to 'Les chevaux de l'automne' for Christian Borel, a song which competed in the 1976 French Eurovision pre-selection.

fr1976

24/05/2026

On this day, 70 years ago exactly, the very first Eurovision Song Contest was held. Marketed as the Gran Premio Eurovisione della Canzone Europea, the festival took its inspiration from the successful San Remo Festival in Italy, held for the first time in 1951. This first edition took place in Teatro Kursaal in Lugano in Ticino, the Italian-speaking part of Switzerland.

Apart from the hosts from Switzerland, six countries sent a delegation to Lugano: Italy, France, Luxembourg, Belgium, Netherlands, and West Germany. All broadcasters submitted two songs, making a total of fourteen entries. All artists taking part were accompanied by the 24-man-strong Orchestra Radiosa of Italian-born violinist and bandleader Fernando Paggi. As the Netherlands and West Germany had not sent along a conductor of their own choice, Paggi ended up leading his orchestra for six entries in total.

The two Italian songs were conducted by 27-year-old pianist and arranger Gian Stellari, who had been the musical director of the San Remo Festival earlier that same year. Belgium’s conductor on the night was jazz pianist Léo Souris, while Luxembourg’s candidate Michèle Arnaud was accompanied by her own arranger, Parisian pianist Jacques Lasry. The conductor destined to have the longest Eurovision career was France’s Franck Pourcel; Pourcel would go on to take part in 15 Eurovisions between 1956 and 1972, being the musical director for the 1959 and 1961 editions and leading the festival orchestra for a total of 23 entries.

The winning song was decided by an international jury led by Swiss composer and artistic director Rolf Liebermann. According to the jurors, the best entry of the night was ‘Refrain’, composed by Géo Voumard with lyrics by Émile Gardaz, performed by Switzerland’s Lys Assia. The orchestration had been taken care of by the staff arranger of the Orchestra Radiosa, future Eurovision conductor Mario Robbiani.

Any thoughts? What’s your favourite entry of the 1956 contest? Which song had the best arrangement according to you? Feel free to leave a message in the comments’ section below.

22/05/2026

On this day, 115 years ago exactly, Spanish violinist and conductor Rafael Ferrer Fitó was born. Hailing from Sant Celoni in Catalonia, Ferrer studied solfège, conducting, harmony, counterpoint, and fugue at the Escola Municipal de Música, Barcelona. In the early stages of his career, he played the violin in various classical and light entertainment orchestras, such as Orquesta Pau Casals, the Quartet Català, and the Orquesta Ciutat de Barcelona, of which he became the assistant chief conductor. In 1961, he was appointed chief of the Orquesta Municipal de Barcelona, while he became maestro of the renowned Orquesta Sinfónica de Barcelona one year later, working with this ensemble for five years (1962-67). He was regularly invited to conduct other orchestras in Spain and abroad, amongst which the Orquesta Nacional de Madrid. As a composer, Ferrer has left an impressive oeuvre of works in various genres. He penned ballets and a concerto for violin and orchestra. Moreover, in the field of light music, he composed 29 sardanas, traditional Catalonian circle dances, as well as dozens of film soundtracks.

In the Eurovision Song Contest, Rafael Ferrer has the distinction of leading the orchestra to the very first Spanish entry, ‘Estando contigo’, performed by Conchita Bautista. It was composed by Augusto Algueró, a young Barcelonese composer and arranger – and a future Eurovision conductor. With Ferrer standing up to conduct Franck Pourcel’s orchestra in the Palais des Festivals in Cannes, ‘Estando contigo’ finished in ninth place in a field of sixteen entries.

Rafael Ferrer Fitó passed away in 1988 at the age of 76. “Do you not know that a man is not dead while his name is still spoken?”

20/05/2026

On this day, 105 years ago exactly, Belgian jazz pianist and bandleader Henri Segers was born. Studying classical piano at the Royal Conservatoire in Brussels, Segers quickly made his mark in the world of jazz, playing the piano in various dance bands, notably the ensembles of Fud Candrix and Jean Omer. Later on, he formed his own jazz band, with which he toured in Belgium and the Netherlands. In 1956, Segers was commissioned by Belgian broadcasting service INR to form a radio orchestra, which he went on to lead until its disbandment in 1965. Subsequently, he worked as a producer for Belgian radio until his retirement.

In the Eurovision Song Contest, Henri Segers led the orchestra for five Belgian entries between 1960 and 1972, notably 'Près de ma rivière' by Robert Cogoi and 'Quand tu reviendras', a wonderful ballad penned by Jo Van Wetter, performed on the Eurovision stage in London's Royal Albert Hall by Claude Lombard.

Marred by health problems, Henri Segers passed away in 1983 in Tervuren. He was only 62 years old. "Do you not know that a man is not dead while his name is still spoken?"

Our career impression of Henri Segers can be found here - https://all-conductors-of-eurovision.blogspot.com/1972/03/henri-segers.html

18/05/2026

Hard to believe that it’s already so long ago, but the calendar tells me it’s true: on this day, 30 years ago exactly, the 1996 Eurovision Song Contest was held. Following the win of Norway’s Secret Garden the previous year, the event moved to the Oslo Spektrum, where 23 broadcasters competed – with seven countries having been eliminated in an audio qualifying round. All entries were accompanied by the Norwegian Radio Orchestra (Kringkastingsorkestret) of musical director Frode Thingnæs.

During rehearsals, news transpired that NRK’s producer, Odd Arvid Strømstad, had replaced the traditional conductor’s introduction ahead of each entry for short films of politicians from the respective countries wishing their candidates well. Thankfully, a group of the more experienced conductors – Ireland’s Noel Kelehan, Malta’s Paul Abela, Finland’s Olli Ahvenlahti, and Sweden’s Anders Berglund – stood up to the production team, threatening to go on a strike, the result being that the decision was reversed.

Apart from the four “ringleaders” mentioned above, the Eurovision audience got to see some other familiar faces in front of the orchestra, notably Spain’s Eduardo Leiva (seventh participation) and two jazz greats from the former Yugoslavia: Bosnia’s Sinan Alimanović (third participation) and Slovenia’s Jože Privšek (fifth participation).

Two other conductors with a strong Eurovision pedigree returned to the event after longer absences, Michael Rozakis for Greece, who earned the applause of the orchestra during rehearsals with his daring arrangement and conducting style, and Pedro Osório; Osório stole the show with his self-penned ‘O meu coração não tem cor’ for Portugal – certainly one of the strongest entries on the night. But not even this Portuguese entry could prevent the fourth Irish victory in five editions, with Eimear Quinn’s ethereal rendition of ‘The Voice’.

All other thirteen maestros made their conducting debut, but three of them had been involved in other capacities: Dick Bakker (winning composer of Eurovision 1975 with ‘Ding-A-Dong’ and composer & arranger of several other Netherlands’ entries), Rui Reis (pianist in the 1989 Eurovision orchestra), and Mischa Krausz, composer of the Austrian entry in the previous edition of the contest.

Perhaps the easiest job on the night befell to Ernie Dunstall, conductor for the UK, who, at the request of the BBC, had added a tiny string arrangement to accompany the dance tune ‘Just A Little Bit’ – a song in a style which somehow felt out of place in the contest. Iceland came up with a delightful jazz tune ‘Sjúbidú’, co-written by Anna Mjöll and her father Ólafur Gaukur, who led the orchestra in a Sinatra-style arrangement. France came up with a wonderful entry in the Breton language, ‘Diwanit bugale’ by Dan Ar Braz, orchestrated and conducted by experienced London-based Irish string arranger Fiachra Trench. Levent Çoker conducted his self-penned and self-orchestrated ‘Beşinci mevsim’ for Turkey – with Çoker being destined to return to the contest and get an even better result the following year.

Other conductors who would have a second stint in front of the Eurovision orchestra were Stavros Lantsias (Cyprus), Tarmo Leinatamm (Estonia), and Wiesław Pieregorólka (Poland). The last three conductors in this edition of the festival were the young Slovakian songwriter and guitarist Juraj Burian, the classically-oriented Alan Bjelinski from Croatia, and the legendary Belgian jazz multi-instrumentalist Bob Porter.

Any thoughts? Did you like the NRK Radio Orchestra? Which was your favourite entry in the Oslo contest? What was the stand-out orchestration on the night according to you? Your comments are welcome below.

https://all-conductors-of-eurovision.blogspot.com/1999/02/1996-eurovision-song-contest.html

17/05/2026

On this day, 105 years ago exactly, Yugoslavian multi-instrumentalist, composer, arranger, and bandleader Mario Rijavec was born. Hailing from a musical family in Zagreb, his father being the tenor Josip Rijavec, young Mario was the saxophonist in jazz ensemble The Devils; later on, as a pianist and an arranger, he worked with the RTV Ljubljana Dance Orchestra, for which he wrote over 750 adaptations of renowned musical pieces. From 1955 until 1965, Rijavec was the pianist of the Ljubljana Jazz Ensemble. In 1962, he was jury president in the very first Festival Slovenske Popevke, the festival of Slovenian popular music, held in Bled. He composed and arranged countless popular songs for the likes of Stanka Kovačič, Edwin Fliser, and Lola Novaković. He took part as an arranger and conductor in music festivals in Opatija, Belgrade, Split, and Zagreb. Apart from his involvement in popular music, Rijavec also penned several film soundtracks. It was not until later in his career that Rijavec decided to study music professionally. In 1968, he graduated at the Ljubljana Academy of Music, having studied music history; he wrote a thesis on the development of jazz. The last job before his retirement (in 1984) was Head of Production of Entertainment Music at Radio Ljubljana.

In the Eurovision Song Contest, Mario Rijavec took part as a conductor on two occasions. In 1967, when Yugoslavia was represented by Slovenian artist Lado Leskovar and his hymn to peace, ‘Vse rože sveta’, Rijavec took care of the arrangement, conducting it in the international festival final in Vienna. Eight years later, another Slovenian-language song earned the right to represent Yugoslavia in the contest, ‘Dan ljubezni’ by vocal group Pepel & Kri (Ashes & Blood). This time around, Rijavec conducted the orchestra without having written the arrangement, leaving that part of the job to Deco Žgur.

Mario Rijavec passed away in 2006 at the age of 85. “Do you not know that a man is not dead while his name is still spoken?”

16/05/2026

Today, our good wishes are going out to Southern Spain, as Francis Goya is celebrating his birthday. Growing up in Brussels as François Weyer, Francis Goya was a guitarist in several rock bands in the 1960s, such as Liberty Six and the J.J. Band. In the following decade, he changed musical styles completely, opting for romantic instrumental guitar melodies. In 1975, Goya recorded ‘Nostalgia’, an instrumental composition by his father, with which he had a number 1 hit in six countries. Later on, he worked as a producer in the Netherlands and Belgium. Meanwhile, Goya continued releasing material himself, including albums with Richard Clayderman and Bolivian singer Carmina Cabrera; for ‘Bahia lady’, recorded with Cabrera in 1990, Goya was awarded an Edison Award in the Netherlands. Goya won particular popularity in Finland and former Soviet republics, doing countless concert tours in Eastern Europe.

In the Eurovision Song Contest, Francis Goya backed up Linda Williams as a guitarist in the 1981 Eurovision Song Contest in Dublin, where she represented the Netherlands with ‘Het is een wonder’. In the early 1990s, Goya was commissioned by RTL to conduct the Luxembourg entry in the contest on two occasions, in 1991 in Rome with ‘Un ba**er volé’ for Sarah Bray and in 1993 in Millstreet with ‘Donne-moi une chance’ for Modern Times.

Francis Goya is turning 80 today and we wish him all the best on this special day. Bon anniversaire, maestro!

PS - Our 2020 career interview with Francis Goya can be found here: https://all-conductors-of-eurovision.blogspot.com/1993/05/francis-goya.html

15/05/2026

Today, our good wishes are going out to Greece, as Chatzik 'Jick' Nacassian celebrates his birthday. An alumnus of the Costas Clavvas Music School and the National Conservatoire in Athens, Mr Nacassian built up a reputation as a songwriter and arranger in the 1970s. He was as a staff arranger at the ERT Variety Music Orchestra and conducted in many editions of the Thessaloniki Song Festival. In 1980, he earned the right to represent Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest with his song 'Autostop', performed by Anna Vissi. In the international festival in The Hague, Nacassian conducted the Metropole Orkest for his own entry. Following a brief spell in New York, Nacassian returned to Athens, continuing his work as an arranger and conductor. In 2002, he took the radical decision to focus on his own songwriting, creating his own home studio. In 2011, he released his first solo album, ‘Chronia asiderota’. Jick Nacassian is turning 75 today and we wish him all the best on this special occasion. Χρόvια πολλά, maestro!

PS - If you have not read our 2013 interview with Jick yet, you can find it here: https://all-conductors-of-eurovision.blogspot.com/1980/04/jick-nacassian-atzik-tzik-nakaian.html

14/05/2026

Sad news comes to us from Luxembourg, as we learn of the passing of one of the towering personalities in the Grand-Duchy's cultural landscape, conductor Pierre Cao. Born in a working-class family in Dudelange, Cao carved out a remarkable and long career for himself in music. He was involved as an assistant MD with the Luxembourg Philharmonic for many years, working under chief conductors Louis de Froment and Robert Hager. As such, Cao was called upon to be the musical director of the 1973 and 1984 Eurovision editions, both held in the Nouveau Théâtre in Luxembourg-Ville. In 1973, as the host country won the contest with Anne-Marie David's 'Tu te reconnaîtras', Cao stood in front of the orchestra. Eleven years later, he stepped in to lead his orchestra for the entries from Cyprus and West Germany. After his retirement, Cao continued to work extensively as a conductor, notably with the French vocal ensemble Arsys Bourgogne as well as, again, the Luxembourg Philharmonic. In 2022, Luxembourg's government awarded Cao with the Nationale Musekspräis. Pierre Cao was 88 years old. May he rest in peace!

PS - Our 2011 interview with Pierre Cao can be found via this link - https://all-conductors-of-eurovision.blogspot.com/1984/05/pierre-cao.html

13/05/2026

Sad news reaches us from France, as we learn of the passing of singer Romuald Figuier. Romuald took part in the Eurovision Song Contest on three occasions, in 1964 for Monaco with 'Où sont-elles passées' (composed by Francis Lai, arranged & conducted by Michel Colombier), in 1969 for Luxembourg with 'Cathérine' (composed by Paul Mauriat, arranged by André Borly, conducted by Augusto Algueró), and lastly in 1974 for Monaco with 'Celui qui reste et celui qui s'en va' (composed by Jean-Pierre Bourtayre, arranged & conducted by Raymond Donnez). Romuald Figuier was 85 years old. Our thoughts go out to those close to him. RIP!