Armenia’s Khachaturian Conducting Competition Names 2025 Winners 

Conductors Fernando Gaggini and Leonard Weiss were awarded joint first place

Founded in 2003 to mark the 100th anniversary of the Armenian composer Aram Khachaturian, the Khachaturian International Competition annually alternates between editions for cello, piano, violin, and conducting.

The competition’s 21st edition for conducting was open to conductors of any nationality or citizenship, aged between 18 and 35. 

Joint first prize was awarded to the Argentine-Italian conductor Fernando Gaggini and the Australian conductor Leonard Weiss. Gaggini also won the Audience Award, and Weiss received the Special Prize for best interpretation of Khachaturian’s Symphony No 2.

The other four finalists included the Japanese conductor Shun Oi, the South Korean conductors Keuntae Park and Jaehyuck Choi, and Otis Kinta Enokido-Lineham from the UK. 

They were selected from a pool of 18 candidates, who all worked with the Armenian State Symphony Orchestra led by the competition’s artistic director and principal conductor Sergey Smbatyan.

The 2025 jury comprised George Pehlivanian, Vahagn Papian, Darrell Ang, Ni Fan, Ruben Jais, and Piotr Sułkowski. 

“I was honoured to receive First Prize,” Weiss shared on Facebook. “To all my colleagues and new friends in the Competition, it has been a joy and a tremendous inspiration to witness your musicality every day. Special thank you to everyone at the Competition for making me feel so welcome, and for this amazing and life-changing week in Yerevan! I look forward to returning very soon and can’t wait for our next performances together.”

"I’m beyond honored to share that I’ve won First Prize and the Audience Award at the 21st Khachaturian International Conducting Competition in Yerevan, Armenia!!” Gaggini wrote. “Finally, thank you to the fabulous Armenian State Symphony. Your openness, dedication, and musical excellence were truly inspiring. I was deeply moved by the passion, care, and love you bring to your music and cultural heritage. In a world that is rapidly sinking into darkness and division, your music stands as a powerful act of hope and humanity. May you continue to share that light with the world. I look forward to making music together again in the 2026/2027 season!”