New Year’s Eve Concert 2024: again conducted by Christian Thielemann

Telemann feels close to the orchestra

“We have a deep artistic partnership with Christian Telemann, particularly in the symphonic field. He is one of the conductors particularly close to the orchestra,” said orchestra board member Daniel Frochwer in Sunday’s broadcast, explaining the choice of the orchestra. Maestro for next year.

Born on April 1, 1959, Telemann began his career at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, where he later worked as general music director from 1997 to 2004. In 1985 he became the first Kapellmeister at the Rheinoper and in 1988 he became Germany’s youngest general music director in Nuremberg, where he finally achieved His breakthrough is with Wagner’s “Tristan”. But success doesn’t make you tame, which is where Telemann’s artistic and political figure caused a stir: the expulsion of the Nuremberg Theater in 1992 (and the conductor’s triumph in the ensuing legal spat) is a case in point, as is the surrounding excitement. Thielemann’s defense of Hans Pfitzner’s music despite his involvement with the Nazi regime.

In 2004, Thielmann resigned from the Deutsche Oper Berlin. Since his demands for an increase in the orchestra’s budget were refused, the Berliner left home after seven years as musical director and became general music director of the Munich Philharmonic that same year. Here too, the star showed rough edges, quarreling with Medina in 2009 over the efficiencies of his position and ultimately refusing a contract extension.

At the Salzburg Easter Festival

In 2012 he became captain of the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden, with a contract until 2024, when he was succeeded by Daniele Gatti. Since 2015, Thielemann has also been musical director of the Wagner Festival in his artistic hometown of Bayreuth – a title that also expired in 2020. Since 2013 he has also been in charge of the Salzburg Easter Festival with Staatskapelle – a commitment that marks history this year, with which he bid farewell Dresden their feisty boss from Salzburg after Nikolaus Bächler took the mace there. But Christian Thielemann will remain faithful to the Wiener Musikverein and the Philharmonic Orchestra in 2024.