Kurzydlak, 24, is a graduate of the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw and currently serves as assistant conductor to Paavo Järvi at the Tonhalle Orchestra in Zurich.
Jaworski, 30, studied orchestral conducting and opera coaching at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna and earned a doctorate in piano performance from the Academy of Music in Kraków, southern Poland.
He is currently engaged at the Staatsoper in Hanover, Germany, where he is expected to conduct more than 30 performances this season, including Swan Lake, Tosca and The Barber of Seville.
The five-member British contingent is the largest national group in the lineup. Also represented are France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Sweden, Austria and Switzerland.
In the first round, competitors will conduct the London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) in one of three works: Haydn’s Symphony No. 103, Schubert’s Symphony No. 5 or the Concerto for String Orchestra by 20th-century Polish composer Grażyna Bacewicz.
Ten conductors will advance to the second round, and three to the final.
The winner will receive £15,000 and the chance to serve as assistant conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra for up to one year.
The jury is chaired by Sir Antonio Pappano, the LSO’s chief conductor and former longtime music director of London’s Royal Opera House.
Founded in 1990 by Italian philanthropist Donatella Flick, the competition is among the most prestigious events of its kind. It is now in its 18th edition.
Past winners include Poland’s Michał Dworzyński, who took first prize in 2006.
(mk/gs)