# Eurovision Young Musicians 1988

The Eurovision Young Musicians 1988 was the fourth edition of the Eurovision Young Musicians, held at Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Netherlands, on 31 May 1988. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Nederlandse Omroep Stichting (NOS), musicians from six countries participated in the televised final. A total of sixteen countries took part in the competition. All participants had to be younger than 19 and performed a classical piece of their choice accompanied by the Radio Filharmonisch Orkest conducted by Sergiu Comissiona. Cyprus and Spain made their début, however Israel decided not to participate.
The non-qualified countries were Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, France, Ireland, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and Yugoslavia. For the second year in a row, the host country did not qualify for the final. The semifinal took place between 26 and 27 May, a few days before the televised final. Julian Rachlin of Austria won the contest, with Norway and Italy placing second and third respectively.

## Location

The Concertgebouw (also known as the "Royal Concertgebouw") a concert hall in Amsterdam, Netherlands, was the host venue for the 1988 edition of the Eurovision Young Musicians.
The Dutch term "concertgebouw" literally translates into English as "concert building". On 11 April 2013, on occasion of the building's 125th anniversary, Queen Beatrix bestowed the Royal Title "Koninklijk" upon the building, as she did previously on to the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. Because of its highly regarded acoustics, the Concertgebouw is considered one of the finest concert halls in the world, along with places such as Boston's Symphony Hall and the Musikverein in Vienna.

## Format

Martine Bijl [nl] was the host of the 1988 contest. Each participating country were able to send male or female artists who were no older than 19 years of age, to represent them by playing a classical piece of their choice accompanied by the Radio Filharmonisch Orkest conducted under Sergiu Comissiona. Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands was a special guest at the contest.

## Results
### Preliminary round

Broadcasters from sixteen countries took part in the preliminary round of the 1988 contest, of which six qualified to the televised grand final. The following participants failed to qualify.
* Belgium – RTBF
* Cyprus – CyBC
* Denmark – DR
* France – FR3
* Ireland – RTÉ
* Netherlands – NOS (host)
* Spain – TVE
* Sweden – SVT
* Switzerland – SRG SSR
* Yugoslavia – JRT

### Final

Awards were given to the top three participants. 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.
Participants and results :
| R/O | Country | Broadcaster | Performer(s) | Instrument | Piece(s) | Composer(s) | Pl. |
| 1 | Finland | YLE | Jan Söderblom [fi] | Violin | Violin Concerto No. 5 in A, KV 219 | Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | |
| 2 | United Kingdom | BBC | David Pyatt | Horn | Horn Concerto No. 1, in E flat, op.11 | Richard Strauss | |
| 3 | Italy | RAI | Domenico Nordio | Violin | Violin Concerto in d, op.47 | Jean Sibelius | 3 |
| 4 | Germany | ZDF | Nikolai Schneider | Cello | Cello Concerto No. 1, in a, op.33 | Camille Saint-Saëns | |
| 5 | Austria | ORF | Julian Rachlin | Violin | Violin Concerto No. 2, in d, op.22 | Henryk Wieniawski | 1 |
| 6 | Norway | NRK | Leif Ove Andsnes | Piano | Piano Concerto No. 3, in C, op.26 | Sergei Prokofiev | 2 |

## Jury members

The jury members consisted of the following:
* Denmark – Anette Faaborg [da]
* Finland – Osmo Vänskä
* France – Pascal Rogé
* Germany – Elmar Weingarten [de]
* Italy – Roberto Benzi (President)
* Netherlands – Marco Riaskoff
* Netherlands – Herman Krebbers
* Sweden – Sören Hermansson [fi]
* United Kingdom – William Pleeth

## Broadcasts

EBU members from the following countries broadcast the final round. It was the first time that commentary boxes were provided in the venue. Known details on the broadcasts in each country, including the specific broadcasting stations and commentators are shown in the tables below.
Broadcasters and commentators in participating countries :
| Country | Broadcaster | Channel(s) | Commentator(s) |
| Austria | ORF | | |
| Belgium | RTBF | Télé 21 | |
| Cyprus | CyBC | RIK | |
| Denmark | DR | DR TV, DR P2 | Niels Oxenvad |
| Finland | YLE | | Inari Teinilä |
| France | FR3 | FR3 | Alain Duault |
| Germany | 3sat | 3sat | |
| Ireland | RTÉ | | Jane Carly and John O'Connor |
| Italy | RAI | Rai Tre | Ilio Catani |
| Netherlands | NOS | Nederland 3, Radio 4 | |
| Norway | NRK | NRK Fjernsynet | Sture Rogne |
| Spain | TVE | TVE 2 | Carlos Usillos |
| Sweden | SVT | TV1 | Sten Andersson |
| Switzerland | SRG SSR | SRG Sportkette [de] | Arthur Godel |
| Switzerland | SRG SSR | SSR Chaîne Sportive [de], RSR 2 | Eric Bauer |
| Switzerland | SRG SSR | SSR Canale Sportivo [de] | Giusy Boni |
| United Kingdom | BBC | BBC2 | Humphrey Burton and Jane Glover |
| Yugoslavia | JRT | TV Beograd 2, TV Novi Sad, TV Zagreb 2 | Milena Miloradović |
| Yugoslavia | JRT | TV Ljubljana 2 [sl] | |