"I immediately felt that conducting was my thing"

"The appeal of the conducting competition is very high because our scene is strongly oriented towards reputation," Sandro Blank is convinced. The last winner made his breakthrough not least thanks to the performances in Baden. As a prizewinner, he was able to present himself wherever he wanted. Another reward was the opportunity to lead the Swiss Army match.

However, the victory shortly before the first interview also made Feldmusik Sarnen sit up and take notice - after a two-year process, Sandro Blank was finally chosen as the new conductor. The professional conductor is also musical director of the Lucerne Youth Wind Orchestra and the Stadtmusik Zug and plays in the Nexus Reed Quintet.

Sandro Blank attended conducting courses with Tony Kurmann as a teenager. However, his career only really took off at the beginning of his studies at the Basel University of Music. The saxophonist had chosen conducting as a minor subject - and Felix Hauswirth only needed one lesson to trigger the famous "aha" effect in the young musician from Schwyz: "I immediately felt that conducting was my thing," recalls the 2016 winner. The decisive factor is not the technical part, which has to work somehow. Sandro Blank's strength lies in his musical imagination, which he "really enjoys".
 

"Conductors should be self-critical and always question themselves," says Blank. Taking part in Baden gave him the confidence that I'm on the right track". However, this took "a few night shifts". Because although Blank put in a lot of effort and rehearsed all seven works before the first day of the competition, he also wanted to be perfect in the nuances.

He knew what was needed in Baden, not least from his first participation in the competition almost six years ago. Although success had not yet materialized at the time, Blank benefited greatly. The competition gave him a lot of confidence in his future work as a conductor. This in turn gave him the strength to face the challenges of the four-day competition again in 2016.
 

Blank appreciates facing a competition. The Baden Conducting Competition means that as a young conductor you have to perform immediately in front of an unknown orchestra. Leaving your comfort zone is an important experience. For Blank, the five-minute rehearsal with the semi-final orchestra is particularly crucial for the competition. For him, but possibly also for the jury, these were the most important minutes of the four-day competition. Because this is where it becomes clear whether a conductor understands his profession.