Thomas Zehetmair (born 23 November 1961) is an Austrian violinist and conductor.
Zehetmair was born in Salzburg, and studied at the Salzburg Mozarteum, where both of his parents taught. His festival debut was at age 16. [1] He was in master classes with Nathan Milstein and Max Rostal. [2]
In 1994, Zehetmair formed a string quartet which bears his name. The Zehetmair Quartet performs all works entirely from memory, and learns one new programme a year. [3] Zehetmair has made several recordings for ECM, both as soloist and with his quartet. [2] [4]
Zehetmair later developed a parallel career in conducting. In November 2001, he was named music director and chief conductor of the Northern Sinfonia (now the Royal Northern Sinfonia), his first conducting post, starting with the 2002–2003 season, for an initial contract of 3 years and 6 weeks of concerts each season. [5] [6] In August 2005, he extended his contract for another 3 years through 2008. [7] [8] He concluded his music directorship of the Royal Northern Sinfonia after the 2013–2014 season, [9] and now has the title of conductor laureate with the orchestra. He became an Artistic Partner of the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra in Minnesota in 2010. [10] In June 2015, the Orchester Musikkollegium Winterthur announced the appointment of Zehetmair as its next principal conductor, effective September 2016, with an initial contract of 3 seasons. [11] He is scheduled to conclude his Winterthur tenure at the close of the 2020–2021 season. [12]
In October 2017, the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra announced the appointment of Zehetmair as its next chief conductor, effective with the 2019–2020 season, with an initial contract of 3 years. [13] In March 2021, the Orchestre national d'Auvergne announced the appointment of Zehetmair as its next principal conductor, effective with the 2021–2022 season, with an initial contract of 3 years. [14] Since May 2022, he has been Principal Conductor and Artistic Partner of the Irish Chamber Orchestra. [15]
Zehetmair is married to the violist Ruth Killius, [16] who is also a member of the Zehetmair Quartet. He holds honorary doctorates from the Music Academy Franz Liszt in Weimar and Newcastle University.
The English Chamber Orchestra (ECO) is a British chamber orchestra based in London. The full orchestra regularly plays concerts at Cadogan Hall, and their ensemble performs at Wigmore Hall. With a limited performance size, the orchestra specializes in 18th-century music and was created to perform Baroque Music. The orchestra regularly tours in the UK and internationally, and holds the distinction of having the most extensive discography of any chamber orchestra and being the most well-traveled orchestra in the world; no other orchestra has played concerts (as of 2013, according to its own publicity) in as many countries as the English Chamber Orchestra.
Jukka-Pekka Saraste is a Finnish conductor and violinist.
The Orchester Musikkollegium Winterthur is a Swiss symphony orchestra based in Winterthur, Switzerland at its namesake venue, the Musikkollegium Winterthur. The orchestra performs around 60 concerts a year, and in addition to orchestra concerts, performs in the pit at the Zurich Opera.
Heinrich Schiff was an Austrian cellist and conductor.
Okko Tapani Kamu is a Finnish orchestral conductor and violinist.
Guy Johnston is a British cellist and the winner of the BBC Young Musician of the Year award in 2000. He has subsequently enjoyed a successful international career as a soloist and chamber musician and currently serves as an associate professor of Cello at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester New York.
Ilan Volkov is an Israeli orchestral conductor.
The Lahti Symphony Orchestra is a Finnish orchestra, based in the city of Lahti. The orchestra is resident at the Sibelius Hall. The orchestra was founded in 1910, and placed under the control of the Lahti municipality in 1949.
Royal Northern Sinfonia is a British chamber orchestra, founded in Newcastle upon Tyne and currently based in Gateshead. For the first 46 years of its history the orchestra gave most of its concerts at the Newcastle City Hall. It also gave monthly concerts in Middlesbrough town hall and at Stockton & Billingham Technical College in Billingham. Since 2004 the orchestra has been resident at Sage Gateshead. In June 2013 Queen Elizabeth II bestowed the title 'Royal' on the orchestra, formally naming it Royal Northern Sinfonia.
Douglas Boyd is a British oboist and conductor.
Ondine is a Finnish classical record label founded in 1985 in Helsinki, Finland. Its catalogue with several award-winning releases includes over 600 titles with major Finnish and international artists.
Lars Vogt was a German classical pianist, conductor and academic teacher. Noted by The New York Times for his interpretations of Brahms, Vogt performed as a soloist with major orchestras, including the Berlin Philharmonic. He was the music director of the Orchestre de chambre de Paris at the time of his death and also served as the music director of the Royal Northern Sinfonia. He ran a festival of chamber music, Spannungen, from 1998, and succeeded his teacher Karl-Heinz Kämmerling as professor of piano at the Musikhochschule Hannover.
John Gunnar Rafael Storgårds is a Finnish conductor and violinist.
The Boulder Philharmonic Orchestra, founded in 1958, is a professional symphony orchestra based in Boulder, Colorado. It is led by Music Director Michael Butterman. The Boulder Philharmonic's season at Macky Auditorium on the University of Colorado at Boulder campus and other venues includes classical music, pops, school and family concerts, as well as an annual production of The Nutcracker with Boulder Ballet.
The Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra is a German chamber orchestra based in Stuttgart. Its principal concert venue is the Liederhalle, Stuttgart.
This article lists major events and other topics related to classical music in 2016.
Roberto González-Monjas is a Spanish classical violinist and conductor.
Michael Hall was a violist, conductor, lecturer, broadcaster, musicologist, and writer.