| Eurovision Young Musicians | |
| Year: | 2008 |
| Semi1: | 4 May 2008 |
| Semi2: | 5 May 2008 |
| Final: | 9 May 2008 |
| Presenters: | |
| Exproducer: | Michael Heinzl |
| Exsupervisor: | Tal Barnea |
| Director: | Heidelinde Haschek |
| Musdirector: | Aleksandar Markovic |
| Host: | Österreichischer Rundfunk (ORF) |
| Venue: | Semi-final: Theater an der Wien Final: Rathausplatz, Vienna, Austria |
| Winmusician: | Dionysis Grammenos |
| Vote: | Each juror awarded a mark from 1–10 to each performer |
| Entries: | 16 |
| Finalists: | 7 |
| Map 1Semi: | Y |
The Eurovision Young Musicians 2008 was the fourteenth edition of the Eurovision Young Musicians, held at the Rathausplatz in Vienna, Austria on 9 May 2008.[1] Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Österreichischer Rundfunk (ORF), musicians from seven countries participated in the televised final. This was the second time that the competition was held on an open-air stage and was the beginning of the annual Vienna Festival. Austria and broadcaster ORF previously hosted the contest in, and 2006.[1]
A total of sixteen countries took part in the competition therefore a semi-final was held at the Theater an der Wien on 4 and 5 May 2008. All participants performed a classical piece of their choice accompanied by the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Aleksandar Marković.[1] (as an independent nation) and made their début while returned. Five countries decided not to participate, they were,,, and, while had ceased to exist since 2006.[1]
Dionysios Grammenos of Greece won the contest, with Finland and Norway placing second and third respectively. Grammenos is the first woodwind player to win the competition (previous winners have played piano, violin or cello). A new feature in 2008 was the audience prize, voted for by television viewers in the host country via SMS. The third prize winning Norwegian violinist Eldbjørg Hemsing was the winner of this public vote.[2]
Rathausplatz, a square outside the Wiener Rathaus city hall of Vienna, was the host location for the 2008 edition of the Eurovision Young Musicians final. The Theater an der Wien, a theatre in Vienna, Austria, hosted the semi-final round.[1]
and were the hosts of the 2008 contest. The interval act was Angelika Kirchschlager performing "One Life to Live" alone and "We Dream Together" with the Vienna Boys' Choir.[1]
A total of sixteen countries took part in the semi-final round of the 2008 contest, of which seven qualified to the televised grand final.[1]
| Draw | Country | Performer | Instrument | Piece(s) | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 |  Croatia | Marin Maras | Violin | 1) Sonata in c minor (Largo-Allegro moderato) (Francesco Geminiani) 2) Scherzino (Franjo Krežma) 3) Zigeunerweisen, op.20 (Pablo de Sarasate) | Failed to qualify |
| 02 |  United Kingdom | Philip Achille | Harmonica | 1) Little Suite (James Moody) | Qualified |
| 03 |  Austria | Sol Daniel Kim | Cello | 1) 1st Movement of the Sonata for Arpeggione and Piano (Franz Schubert) 2) Variations on a Theme by Rossini (Niccolò Paganini) | Failed to qualify |
| 04 |  Ukraine | Anna Fedorova | Piano | 1) Sonata, Op. 57, I mv. (Ludwig van Beethoven) 2) Trois Valses Opus 70 N1 (Frédéric Chopin) 3) Trois Valses Opus 34 N3 (Frédéric Chopin) | Failed to qualify |
| 05 |  Germany | Kathy Kang | Violin | 1) Sonata for violin and piano, 2. sentence - Allegro (César Franck) 2) Paganiniana (Nathan Milstein) | Failed to qualify |
| 06 |  Sweden | Maria Verbaite | Piano | 1) Sonate in C-Dur Hob. XVI:50 (Joseph Haydn) 2) Piano Study in Mixed Accents (Ruth Crawford Seeger) 3) Islamey: Oriental Fantasy (Mily Balakirev) | Failed to qualify |
| 07 |  Romania | Stefan Besan | Violin | 1) The Strolling Fiddler for Violin solo, from the Suite (George Enescu) 2) Impressions from childhood in D Major Op.28 (George Enescu) 3) Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso in A Minor, Op.28 for Violin and Piano (Camille Saint-Saëns) 4) Miniature for Violin and Piano (Gheorghe Neaga) | Failed to qualify |
| 08 |  Greece | Dionysios Grammenos | Clarinet | 1) Three Pieces for Clarinet solo (Igor Stravinsky) 2) Rigoletto Fantasia Di Concerto (Alamiro Giampieri) | Qualified |
| Draw | Country | Performer | Instrument | Piece | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 09 |  Finland | Roope Gröhdahl | Piano | 1) Bagatelle G-Moll, Op. 119, No. 1 (Ludwig van Beethoven) 2) Piano Sonata Op. 1 (Alban Berg) 3) Toccata (Maurice Ravel) | Qualified | |
| 10 |  Netherlands | Steven Bourne | Cello | 1) Sonata for Cello and Piano (Claude Debussy) | Qualified | |
| 11 |  Slovenia | Jan Gricar | Saxophone | 1) Fantasie sur un theme original (Jules Demersseman) 2) Aria and Improvisation (Blaž Pucihar) | Qualified | |
| 12 |  Norway | Eldbjørg Hemsing | Violin | 1) Tzigane (rapsodie de Concert) (Maurice Ravel) 2) Subito for violin and piano (Witold Lutosławski) | Qualified | |
| 13 |  Serbia | Mina Zakić | Cello | 1) Impromptu G-Dur, Op.90 (Franz Schubert) 2) Introduction et Polonaise Brillante, Op.3 (Frédéric Chopin) | Failed to qualify | |
| 14 |  Cyprus | Orfeas Hiratos | Clarinet | 1) Sonáta: Allegro (Franz Danzi) 2) Fantasiestuecke I (Robert Schumann) 3) 4 Miniatures: Nos 3 & 4 (Bruno Brun) | Failed to qualify | |
| 15 | Russia | Anastasia Kobekina | Cello | 1) Rondo (Luigi Boccherini) 2) Noktürn (Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky) 3) At the fountain op. 20/2 (Karl Davidov) | Qualified | |
| 16 |  Poland | Marta Kowalczyk | Violin | 1) Fantasie Brillante sur Gounod's "Faust" op.20 (Henryk Wieniawski) | Failed to qualify |
Awards were given to the top three countries. The table below highlights these using gold, silver, and bronze. The placing results of the remaining participants is unknown and never made public by the European Broadcasting Union.[2]
| Draw | Country | Performer | Instrument | Piece | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Jan Cricar | Saxophone | Pequeña Czarda by Pedro Iturralde | data-sort-value="4" | - | |
| 02 | Anastasia Kobekina | Cello | Concerto for Cello and Orchestra in C Major, 1st movement by Joseph Haydn | data-sort-value="5" | - | |
| 03 | Philip Achille | Harmonica | Concerto for Chromatic Harmonica and Orchestra, 1st movement by Jascha Spivakovsky | data-sort-value="6" | - | |
| 04 | Roope Gröndahl | Piano | Concerto for Piano and Orchestra in B-flat Minor, 3rd movement by Peter Tchaikovsky | 2 | ||
| 05 | Dionysios Grammenos | Clarinet | Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra, 4th movement by Jean Francaix | 1 | ||
| 06 | Steven Bourne | Cello | Elegie by Gabriel Fauré | data-sort-value="7" | - | |
| 07 | Eldbjørg Hemsing | Violin | Carmen Fantasie by Franz Waxman | 3 |
The jury members consisted of the following:[1]
The competition was transmitted live over the Eurovision Network by 18 broadcasters. Iceland and Lithuania broadcast the contest in addition to the competing countries.[3]
| + Broadcasters in participating countries | ||
| Country | Broadcaster(s) | |
|---|---|---|
| ORF | ||
| HRT | ||
| CyBC | ||
| Yle | ||
| WDR | ||
| ERT | ||
| NPS | ||
| NRK | ||
| TVP | ||
| TVR | ||
| KTVC | ||
| RTS | ||
| RTVSLO | ||
| SVT | ||
| NTU | ||
| BBC |
| + Broadcasters in non-participating countries | |
| Country | Broadcaster |
|---|---|
| RÚV | |
| LRT | |