Christian Thielemann
conductor
Christian Thielemann came into contact with the Berliner Philharmoniker early on as Herbert von Karajan’s assistant and as a violist in the Orchestra Academy. He made his debut with the orchestra in 1996, and has become one of the Philharmoniker’s close artistic partners. Since then, Thielemann has worked together with the orchestra on works from the German-Austrian, French, Italian and Russian repertoires. His Bruckner interpretations in particular have consistently caused a sensation – a darkly radiant orchestral sound is combined with a sure sense of the architecture of these monumental works.
In Nuremberg, the conductor became Germany’s then youngest general music director in 1988. He held further conducting positions at Deutsche Oper in Berlin, the Munich Philharmonic and the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden. In 2024 he succeeds Daniel Barenboim as general music director of the Staatskapelle Berlin. Of particular importance to Christian Thielemann are the music dramas of Richard Wagner and Richard Strauss, which he has performed at houses such as the Wiener Staatsoper and the Metropolitan Opera in New York. In 2000, Christian Thielemann made his first appearance at the Bayreuth Festival. Among the many productions he has conducted here since then was the Ring of the Nibelung in 2006. The Festival management entrusted him with the post of Bayreuth music director, which was established especially for him, in 2015.
