Germany’s NDR Radiophilharmonie Appoints Principal Guest Conductor

Jörg Widmann will serve in the role for three years, effective as of the 2023/24 concert season

During his tenure with NDR Radio Philharmonic, German composer and clarinetist Jörg Widmann will be curating and conducting several of its programs over three concert seasons.

For his first concerts in the new role, Widmann will lead the German premiere of his own Danse macabre, Beethoven’s first Violin Concerto in C major with his sister Carolin Widmann, and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7. 

In June, Widmann will conduct his trumpet concerto Towards Paradise (Labyrinth VI) with trumpeter Håkan Hardenberger and Mendelssohn’s “Scottish” Symphony No. 3.

“For many years, I have had the pleasure and honor of working with the wonderful musicians of the NDR Radiophilharmonie,” Widmann expressed. “Nevertheless, when I conducted the orchestra in two concerts at the beginning of last year, something happened that went far beyond that: We simply fell in love with each other. 

“I was therefore more than happy to comply with the orchestra’s wish to work together even more intensively in my new role as principal guest conductor in the coming years,” he added. “We want to combine the music of our time, including my music, with the great masterpieces of the past in a new and exciting way. I look forward to many wonderful concerts together.”

Jörg Widmann is one of the most sought-after composers and conductors of our time,” said NDR Orchestra, Choir and Concerts Division Head, Achim Dobschall. “We are curious about his interpretation of works from the 18th and 19th centuries, which he combines with his own and other contemporary compositions and thus illuminates the familiar core repertoire of the orchestra from a contemporary perspective.”

Widmann has served as visiting composer and conductor with the Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo and the National Symphony Orchestra Taiwan, and as Artist in Residence with Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Alte Oper Frankfurt, and de Singel in Antwerp.

His long-standing chamber partners include Daniel Barenboim, Tabea Zimmermann, Sir András Schiff, Denis Kozhukhin, and the Schumann and Hagen Quartetts.

A graduate of the Juilliard School, he later became a professor of clarinet and composition at the University of Music Freiburg, and since 2017, has served as a composition professor at Berlin’s Barenboim-Said Academy.