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. A total of eighteen 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.

made their début, while and  returned to the contest. Three countries withdrew from the 1998 contest; they were, , and.

The non-qualified countries were, , , , , , , , and. 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.

Location
The Konzerthaus, a concert hall in Vienna, Austria, was the host venue for the 1998 edition of the Eurovision Young Musicians. Opened in 1913, it is situated in the third district just at the edge of the first district in Vienna. Since it was founded it has always tried to emphasise both tradition and innovative musical styles.

The Konzerthaus has the Vienna Symphony, the Vienna Chamber Orchestra, the Wiener Singakademie and the Klangforum Wien in residence. Several subscriptions also include concerts by the Vienna Philharmonic and other organizations.

Format
Julian Rachlin was the host of the 1998 contest and performed during the interval.

Preliminary round
A total of eighteen countries took part in the preliminary round of the 1998 contest, of which eight qualified to the televised grand final. The following countries failed to qualify.


 * 🇨🇾 Cyprus

Final
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.

Jury members
The jury members consisted of the following:


 * – Yehudi Menuhin (head)
 * – Vadim Brodski
 * – Gérard Caussé
 * Friedrich Doligal
 * – Jack Martin Händler
 * – Nana Yashvili
 * Eric Kushner
 * – Alexei Lyubimov

Broadcasting
EBU members from the following countries broadcast the final round. The Final was also broadcast in Germany.

Official album
Eurovision Grand Prix For Young Musicians was the official compilation album of the ninth edition of the contest, put together by the European Broadcasting Union and released by the host broadcaster ORF shortly after the contest in June 1998. The album featured live recordings of the eight finalists.