Eurovision Young Musicians 1998
The Eurovision Young Musicians 1998 was the ninth edition of the Eurovision Young Musicians, held at Konzerthaus in Vienna on 4 June 1998. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Österreichischer Rundfunk (ORF), musicians from eight countries participated in the televised final. Austria and broadcaster ORF previously hosted the contest at Musikverein in 1990. At least fourteen countries took part in the competition therefore a semi-final was held two days earlier. All participants performed a classical piece of their choice accompanied by the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Dennis Russell Davies.
| Eurovision Young Musicians 1998 | |
|---|---|
| Dates | |
| Semi-final | 2 June 1998 |
| Final | 4 June 1998 |
| Host | |
| Venue | Konzerthaus, Vienna, Austria |
| Presenter(s) | Julian Rachlin |
| Musical director | Dennis Russell Davies |
| Host broadcaster | Österreichischer Rundfunk (ORF) |
| Participants | |
| Number of entries | 14 |
| Number of finalists | 8 |
| Debuting countries | Slovakia |
| Returning countries | Croatia Sweden |
| Non-returning countries | Belgium France Germany Greece Poland Portugal Russia |
Participation map
| |
| Vote | |
| Voting system | Jury chose their top 3 favourites by vote. |
| Winning musician |
|
Slovakia made their début, while Croatia and Sweden returned to the contest. Seven countries withdrew from the 1998 contest; they were Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Poland and Portugal. Germany's withdrawal came as a particular surprise, as they had won the previous edition in 1996. The contest also saw the first withdrawal of the previous edition's host country, in this case 1996 hosts Portugal.
The non-qualified countries were Cyprus, Estonia, Ireland, Norway, Spain and Switzerland. Lidia Baich of host country Austria won the contest, with Croatia and United Kingdom placing second and third respectively. Baich had represented Austria at the previous edition in 1996, placing second.