Organized every two years by the Cadaqués Orchestra, the competition started in 1992 as a platform for up-and-coming conductors. The winner is awarded the opportunity to conduct, over the course of three seasons, 29 leading symphony orchestras from Spain and around the globe, including: the BBC Philharmonic (Manchester), Wiener KammerOrchester (Vienna), Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo, Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de República Dominicana, Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano “Giuseppe Verdi”, Koninklijk Filharmonisch Orkest van Vlaanderen [Royal Flemish Philharmonic], Bilbao Orkestra Sinfonikoa, Orquesta de la Radiotelevisión Española, Orquesta y Coro Nacionales de España and Orquestra Simfònica de Barcelona i Nacional de Catalunya, all of whom collaborate with the competition.

For the first time, candidates can apply online at:
www.orquestradecadaques.com

The multinational jury is made up of figures of high international standing from a variety of relevant fields—conductors, soloists, composers, music critics or agents—along with the Cadaqués Orchestra. The presidency of the jury has been held alternately by the conductors Gennady Rozhdestvensky and Sir Neville Marriner.

The repertoire of the competition combines, in a proportion of 70 to 30, well known international with lesser known Spanish orchestral works. The latter include new as well as forgotten historical pieces that, although worthy, had not been performed or published since their time. 

In keeping with this interest in innovation, for each new edition the competition commissions a work from a Spanish composer to premiere as part of the final round of the event. The composers showcased in previous years are: Ramón Lazkano, Jesús Torres, Jesús Rueda, Xavier Montsalvatge, Cristóbal Halffter, Luis de Pablo, Joan Guinjoan and Lleonard Balada. The composer commissioned to do a piece for this 9th edition is David del Puerto (Spanish National Music Prize laureate, 2005).

First prize is €6000 gross, plus three seasons conducting over 20 collaborating orchestras.
Second prize is €1500 gross.
The eight previous winners are:

Charles Peebles, First Prize, 1st Competition, July 1992
Gianandrea Noseda, First Prize, 2nd Competition, July 1994
Achim Fiedler, First Prize, 3rd Competition, July 1996
Gloria Isabel Ramos, First Prize, 4th Competition, July 1998
Cristopher Müller, Second Prize, 5th Competition, July 2000
Vasily Petrenko, First prize, 6th Competition, July 2002
Hans Leenders, Second Prize, 7th Competition, July 2004
Pablo González, First prize, 8th Competition, May 2006