David Fernández Caravaca (Córdoba, 1995) is one of the leading figures of the new generation of Spanish conductors. Winner of the 2026 Conducting Competition of the MDR Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra and the first edition of the 2023 Conducting Competition of Juventudes Musicales de España, he has consolidated his career with important engagements across Europe and Spain, standing out for his expressive clarity and command of the symphonic and operatic repertoire.
As part of his recognition in Spain, he was appointed Assistant Conductor of the Orquesta Sinfónica de Castilla y León for two seasons, collaborating regularly with OSCyL Joven. He has appeared as a guest conductor with the Orquesta de Radio Televisión Española, the Bergische Symphoniker, the Real Orquesta Sinfónica de Sevilla, the Orquesta de Córdoba, the LJO Rheinland-Pfalz and the Jenaer Philharmonie, among others. Among his operatic engagements, he conducted the revival of Peter Pan by Richard Ayres at the Staatstheater Mainz. As an assistant conductor, he has collaborated with the Joven Orquesta Nacional de España under the baton of Vasily Petrenko and with the Concertgebouw Young Orchestra conducted by Elim Chan.
In the 2025–2026 season, highlights include his debut with the Elbland Philharmonie Sachsen, the Orquesta Sinfónica de Tenerife and the Hofer Symphoniker, as well as his return to the Orquesta Sinfónica de Navarra and the Südwestdeutsche Kammerorchester Pforzheim.
In 2024, he was admitted to the second level of the Forum Dirigieren of the Deutscher Musikrat, a programme of which he has been a scholarship holder since April 2022. Since that same month, he has served as Music Director of the Orquesta Joven de Córdoba.
Fernández Caravaca completed his conducting studies at the Hochschule für Musik Franz Liszt Weimar, Germany, under the guidance of Nicolás Pasquet, Ekhart Wycik and Gregor Bühl, collaborating regularly with the Jenaer Philharmonie, the Staatskapelle Weimar, the Thüringer Philharmonie Gotha-Eisenach and the Filharmonie Hradec Králové. During the 2024–2025 academic year, he was a student of the first postgraduate programme in conducting at the Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía in Madrid. His initial training as a conductor took place in Madrid with Maestro Miguel Romea and was further strengthened through courses and masterclasses with orchestras such as the Nürnberger Symphoniker, the Niederrheinische Sinfoniker and the Badische Staatskapelle Karlsruhe, working with distinguished conductors including Johannes Schlaefli, Mark Rohde, Jonathan Darlington, Mikhel Kütson, Georg Fritzsch and Johannes Wildner.
He began his musical training as a violist at the age of eight at the CPM Músico Ziryab in Córdoba and continued at the Real Conservatorio Superior de Música de Madrid, where he graduated in 2017 with highest honours. He has been a member of various youth orchestras in Spain, the Netherlands and Slovenia, and has collaborated in numerous programmes with the Orquesta de Córdoba. His interest in historically informed performance led him to join specialised ensembles such as Vox Orchester and Thüringen Bach Collegium, while in chamber music he was a founding member of the Cuarteto Clásico de Córdoba, touring in Spain, Germany, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
He complements his musical training with a Master’s degree in Applied Musicology from the Universidad de La Rioja, completed between 2021 and 2024.
Last date modified: March 2026
Not to be altered without permission. Please delete any previous material.
As part of his recognition in Spain, he was appointed Assistant Conductor of the Orquesta Sinfónica de Castilla y León for two seasons, collaborating regularly with OSCyL Joven. He has appeared as a guest conductor with the Orquesta de Radio Televisión Española, the Bergische Symphoniker, the Real Orquesta Sinfónica de Sevilla, the Orquesta de Córdoba, the LJO Rheinland-Pfalz and the Jenaer Philharmonie, among others. Among his operatic engagements, he conducted the revival of Peter Pan by Richard Ayres at the Staatstheater Mainz. As an assistant conductor, he has collaborated with the Joven Orquesta Nacional de España under the baton of Vasily Petrenko and with the Concertgebouw Young Orchestra conducted by Elim Chan.
In the 2025–2026 season, highlights include his debut with the Elbland Philharmonie Sachsen, the Orquesta Sinfónica de Tenerife and the Hofer Symphoniker, as well as his return to the Orquesta Sinfónica de Navarra and the Südwestdeutsche Kammerorchester Pforzheim.
In 2024, he was admitted to the second level of the Forum Dirigieren of the Deutscher Musikrat, a programme of which he has been a scholarship holder since April 2022. Since that same month, he has served as Music Director of the Orquesta Joven de Córdoba.
Fernández Caravaca completed his conducting studies at the Hochschule für Musik Franz Liszt Weimar, Germany, under the guidance of Nicolás Pasquet, Ekhart Wycik and Gregor Bühl, collaborating regularly with the Jenaer Philharmonie, the Staatskapelle Weimar, the Thüringer Philharmonie Gotha-Eisenach and the Filharmonie Hradec Králové. During the 2024–2025 academic year, he was a student of the first postgraduate programme in conducting at the Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía in Madrid. His initial training as a conductor took place in Madrid with Maestro Miguel Romea and was further strengthened through courses and masterclasses with orchestras such as the Nürnberger Symphoniker, the Niederrheinische Sinfoniker and the Badische Staatskapelle Karlsruhe, working with distinguished conductors including Johannes Schlaefli, Mark Rohde, Jonathan Darlington, Mikhel Kütson, Georg Fritzsch and Johannes Wildner.
He began his musical training as a violist at the age of eight at the CPM Músico Ziryab in Córdoba and continued at the Real Conservatorio Superior de Música de Madrid, where he graduated in 2017 with highest honours. He has been a member of various youth orchestras in Spain, the Netherlands and Slovenia, and has collaborated in numerous programmes with the Orquesta de Córdoba. His interest in historically informed performance led him to join specialised ensembles such as Vox Orchester and Thüringen Bach Collegium, while in chamber music he was a founding member of the Cuarteto Clásico de Córdoba, touring in Spain, Germany, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
He complements his musical training with a Master’s degree in Applied Musicology from the Universidad de La Rioja, completed between 2021 and 2024.
Last date modified: March 2026
Not to be altered without permission. Please delete any previous material.
2025-2026 Performances
MDR-SiNFONIEORCHESTER
19 of April of 2026 Leipzig, Germany
NDR RADIOPHILHARMONIE
30 of April of 2026 Hannover, Germany
JUNGE DEUTSCHE PHILHARMONIE
15 de mayo de 2026 Ludwigshafen, Germany
16 de mayo de 2026 Ludwigshafen, Germany
17 de mayo de 2026 Ludwigshafen, Germany
18 de mayo de 2026 Ludwigshafen, Germany
ELBLAND PHILHARMONIE SACHSEN
25 of May of 2026 Meißen, Germany
04 of May of 2026 Riesa, Germany
19 of April of 2026 Leipzig, Germany
NDR RADIOPHILHARMONIE
30 of April of 2026 Hannover, Germany
JUNGE DEUTSCHE PHILHARMONIE
15 de mayo de 2026 Ludwigshafen, Germany
16 de mayo de 2026 Ludwigshafen, Germany
17 de mayo de 2026 Ludwigshafen, Germany
18 de mayo de 2026 Ludwigshafen, Germany
ELBLAND PHILHARMONIE SACHSEN
25 of May of 2026 Meißen, Germany
04 of May of 2026 Riesa, Germany
Gallery
Reviews
JUVENTUDES MUSICALES, ROSS CONCERT. 2024
“But, look where we began, we heard the orchestra first and the surprise was all the greater for being unexpected. We mean that we did not believe that the ROSS playing Classicism, and under the hands of the young David Fernández, also from Córdoba, could offer us a performance that was precise, secure and, above all, respectful of the style—not to mention of the delicate wind instrument, which they did not cover up—or even overshadow—at any moment.
Lastly, Wagner’s Siegfried Idyll was chosen to showcase David Fernández. We have spoken about him; it is surprising that he can defend a work which, although written for a particular occasion, is nonetheless Wagner, and there we heard a bit of everything. We will keep above all his Mozart, and if he will allow us a piece of advice: he has good manners, but he must refine his movements, especially the slow ones, which he could reduce to the bare minimum (a slow tempo, even—indeed especially—when subdivided, is very distracting) and avoid distracting himself with that arm movement. Though if he has been capable of conducting Mozart like that, then he can handle anything.” ABC Sevilla
Lastly, Wagner’s Siegfried Idyll was chosen to showcase David Fernández. We have spoken about him; it is surprising that he can defend a work which, although written for a particular occasion, is nonetheless Wagner, and there we heard a bit of everything. We will keep above all his Mozart, and if he will allow us a piece of advice: he has good manners, but he must refine his movements, especially the slow ones, which he could reduce to the bare minimum (a slow tempo, even—indeed especially—when subdivided, is very distracting) and avoid distracting himself with that arm movement. Though if he has been capable of conducting Mozart like that, then he can handle anything.” ABC Sevilla
juventudes musicales, ROSS CONCERT. 2024
“The one in charge of supporting everything with close attention to detail and respect for the soloists was the Córdoba-born Daniel Fernández Caravaca, who demonstrated good judgment in Classicism, an extraordinary capacity for dialogue, and very thoughtful, architecturally refined work in the Siegfried Idyll, which in his hands—and those of the thirty or so musicians assembled—proved a pure delight, controlling every nuance and sonic layer and modulating the tension with great skill.” El Correo de Andalucía