Christian Thielemann is one of the most important conductors of our time and is particularly appreciated for his profound interpretations of the late Romantic repertoire. His close connection to the music of Richard Wagner, Richard Strauss and Anton Bruckner has made him one of the most sought-after artists for the German sound ideal. With an extraordinary career that took him to the top of renowned orchestras, he had a decisive influence on classical music life.
Christian Thielemann was born in Berlin on 1 April 1959. Even as a child, he was fascinated by music, especially the rich tradition of German Romanticism. He began his musical training as a violinist and pianist before turning to conducting. He was influenced early on by the great German conductors such as Wilhelm Furtwängler and Herbert von Karajan, whose interpretative style became formative for him. Thielemann was born into a music-loving family. He began his professional career in 1978 as a répétiteur at the Deutsche Oper Berlin. After working in Gelsenkirchen, Karlsruhe and Hanover, he became principal conductor at the Düsseldorf Rhine Opera in 1985. In 1988, he became Germany's youngest General Music Director in Nuremberg before returning to the Deutsche Oper Berlin for seven years in the same position in 1997. From 2004 to 2011, Thielemann was General Music Director of the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra. Since the beginning of the 2012/2013 season, he has been chief conductor of the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden.
After his early stations in Germany, Thielemann quickly rose to the top league of conductors. His work at the Deutsche Oper Berlin as well as his positions as General Music Director in Nuremberg and Chief Conductor in Karlsruhe brought him recognition, but his international breakthrough came in the 1990s. Christian Thielemann has a broad repertoire ranging from Bach to Henze and Gubaidulina. His interpretations of the German Romantic opera and concerto repertoire are recognised worldwide as exemplary. Since his Bayreuth debut in 2000 (Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, he has characterised the Festival every year with his standard-setting conducting. In 2012, Thielemann took over the artistic direction of the Staatskapelle Dresden, one of the oldest and most traditional orchestras in the world. Here he continued his work on the works of Richard Wagner, Johannes Brahms and Anton Bruckner and took the Staatskapelle to a new level in terms of sound. He also achieved great recognition as conductor of the Bayreuth Festival and became one of the central artists of this traditional festival. His interpretations are characterised by extraordinary tonal precision, careful phrasing and an intense, often archaic power. In the works of Wagner and Bruckner in particular, he achieves a density and drama that makes him one of the leading specialists in this repertoire.
In addition to his duties as a conductor, Thielemann is also a committed music educator and mentor. He regularly gives masterclasses and is committed to promoting young talent. His influence on the music world is immense — not only through his work with top orchestras, but also through his clear positions on the interpretation of German Romantic music. Christian Thielemann's discography is extensive and includes numerous recordings of symphonic works and operas for Deutsche Grammophon. With the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, he has performed all of Beethoven's symphonies, recordings of which have been released on CD and DVD. His recordings with the Staatskapelle Dresden include Bruckner's Eighth Symphony, Beethoven's Missa solemnis and the recordings of the ZDF New Year's Eve concerts in 2010 and 2011, compositions by Wagner and Liszt as well as Brahms' first piano concerto with the pianist Maurizio Pollini. Thielemann's recordings have won many prizes and are regarded as reference works. His recordings of Wagner's operas, Bruckner's symphonies and Strauss' tone poems are particularly highly regarded by classical music lovers. Christian Thielemann has been an honorary member of the Royal Academy of Music in London since 2011. He has also been awarded honorary doctorates from the Franz Liszt University of Music Weimar and the Catholic University of Leuven (Belgium). With his uncompromising musical style and his deep understanding of sound structures, Christian Thielemann has left a lasting mark on the classical music landscape. As one of the last representatives of the great German conducting tradition, he leads the works of his musical role models into the future with respect, passion and tonal refinement.
