The American conductor has received the 2026 Sir Georg Solti Conducting Award, the Solti Foundation US’s highest annual honour for early-career conductors.
American conductor Elias Brown has been named the recipient of the 2026 Sir Georg Solti Conducting Award, the most prestigious distinction presented annually by the Solti Foundation US to an American conductor in the early stages of their career.
The award recognises Brown’s rapid artistic development and follows earlier support from the foundation, which granted him Career Assistance Awards in both 2023 and 2024.
Brown has quickly emerged as one of the most promising American conductors of his generation. A former Salonen Fellow, he has assisted Esa-Pekka Salonen with the San Francisco Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Orchestre de Paris and Ensemble Intercontemporain, while also serving as assistant conductor with the Odense Symphony Orchestra and the Korean National Symphony Orchestra. In recent seasons he has made debuts with the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Danish Chamber Orchestra, the Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra and the Iceland Symphony Orchestra, and in 2021 won First Prize at the Korean Conducting Competition.
Established in 2000 to honour the legacy of Sir Georg Solti, the foundation supports promising American conductors through financial assistance, professional mentoring and career opportunities. The Solti Conducting Award includes a $30,000 grant as well as introductions to artistic leaders at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Lyric Opera of Chicago, institutions closely associated with Solti’s career. The Hungarian-born conductor served as Music Director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra from 1969 to 1991, helping establish it as one of the world’s leading orchestras.
Announcing this year’s award, Solti Foundation US Board Chair Penny Van Horn praised Brown’s continued artistic growth.
“Since he first came to our attention, Elias has continued to build a strong and expanding career,” she said. “Perceptive and imaginative in his work, Elias has continued to expand his repertoire and develop relationships with orchestras and festivals, demonstrating the kind of artistic growth and creativity that were hallmarks of Sir Georg Solti.”
Brown described the recognition as an important milestone in his career.
“Since I was first named a grant recipient by the Solti Foundation US in 2023, I’ve been deeply grateful to this organisation for placing their trust in my talent and potential,” he said. “This award reaffirms my commitment to lifelong growth as an artist, thinker, and leader.”
Over the past quarter-century, the Solti Foundation US has awarded nearly $2 million in grants and residencies to American conductors, supporting musicians whose careers reflect the artistic values championed by Solti. Previous recipients of the Conducting Award include Karina Canellakis, Cristian Măcelaru, Gemma New and Roderick Cox, all of whom have gone on to establish significant international careers.
For Brown, the award represents another important step in a career that has steadily gained recognition and places him among the latest generation of American conductors backed by one of the profession’s most respected development programmes.
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