Eurovision Young Musicians 1998

Eurovision Young Musicians 1998
Dates
Semi-final2 June 1998
Final4 June 1998
Host
VenueKonzerthaus
Vienna, Austria
Presenter(s)Julian Rachlin
Musical directorDennis Russell Davies
Host broadcasterÖsterreichischer Rundfunk (ORF)
Participants
Number of entries18
Number of finalists8
Debuting countries Slovakia
Returning countries Croatia
 Sweden
Non-returning countries Belgium
 France
 Russia
Participation map
  •      Finalist countries     Countries eliminated in the preliminary round     Countries that participated in the past but not in 1998
Vote
Voting systemJury chose their top 3 favourites by vote.
Winning musician

The Eurovision Young Musicians 1998 was the ninth edition of the Eurovision Young Musicians, held at Konzerthaus in Vienna, Austria, 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. 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.

Slovakia made their début, while Croatia and Sweden returned to the contest. Three countries withdrew from the 1998 contest; they were Belgium, France, and Russia.

The non-qualified countries were Cyprus, Estonia, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, 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.