Ingo Metzmacher (born 10 November 1957) is a German conductor and

artistic director An artistic director is the executive of an arts organization, particularly in a theatre company or dance company, who handles the organization's artistic direction. They are generally a producer and director, but not in the sense of a mogu ...

of the festival KunstFestSpiele Herrenhausen in Hanover.

Life

Metzmacher was born in

Hanover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...

, the son of the cellist Rudolf Metzmacher and the research biologist Lore Schoen. His musical education in piano, music theory and conducting was in Hanover, Salzburg and Cologne. He later joined the Ensemble Modern in 1980 as its pianist and became the orchestra's conductor in 1985. In 1987 he gave his opera debut at the

Oper Frankfurt The Oper Frankfurt (Frankfurt Opera) is a German opera company based in Frankfurt. Opera in Frankfurt am Main has a long tradition, with many world premieres such as Franz Schreker's ''Der ferne Klang'' in 1912, ''Fennimore and Gerda, Fennimore ...

. In 1994 Metzmacher conducted the premiere of the revised version of Henze's Symphony No. 6. In 1997 he conducted the world premiere of Henze's Symphony No. 9 at the composer's request. Between 1995 and 1999 he was principal guest conductor of the Bamberg Symphony and from 1997 to 2005 he served as general music director of the City of Hamburg, which covered the

Hamburg State Opera The Hamburg State Opera (in German: ) is a German opera company based in Hamburg. Its theatre is near the square of Gänsemarkt. Since 2015, the current ''Intendant'' of the company is Georges Delnon, and the current ''Generalmusikdirektor'' ...

and its Philharmonic Orchestra. In 2005 the Hamburg State Opera was voted Opera House of the Year by the leading German opera magazine,

Opernwelt ''Opernwelt'' (''Opera World'') is a monthly German magazine for opera, operetta and ballet. It includes news about current performances, portraits of composers and performers, articles about opera houses, performance spaces, and contemporary and ...

. Metzmacher left his post in Hamburg after disputes with the city over funding. In 2005 he became chief conductor of

De Nederlandse Opera The Dutch National Opera (DNO; formerly De Nederlandse Opera, now De Nationale Opera in Dutch) is a Dutch opera company based in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Its present home base is the Dutch National Opera & Ballet housed in the Stopera building, a m ...

(DNO) in Amsterdam. In February 2007 the opera announced that Metzmacher would step down from his post as DNO's chief conductor in 2008. From 2007 to 2010 he was the chief conductor and artistic director of the

Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin The Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin (DSO) is a German broadcast orchestra based in Berlin. The orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families ...

(DSO-Berlin). His original contract with the DSO-Berlin was through 2011. However, after reports of disputes over financing and a threatened reduction in the size of the orchestra, in March 2009 Metzmacher announced his early resignation from the DSO-Berlin principal conductorship as of the summer of 2010. His final concerts as the orchestra's principal conductor were in June 2010 in Berlin and in August 2010 at the

BBC Proms The BBC Proms is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hall in central London. Robert Newman founded The Proms in 1895. Since 1927, the ...

at the

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London, England. It has a seating capacity of 5,272. Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres ...

. Ingo Metzmacher is regularly conducting at leading opera houses, including

Royal Opera House Covent Garden The Royal Opera House (ROH) is a theatre in Covent Garden, central London. The building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. The ROH is the main home of The Royal Opera, The Royal Ballet, and the Orch ...

Zurich Opera House The Zurich Opera House () is an opera house in the Swiss city of Zurich. Located at the Sechseläutenplatz, it has been the home of the Zurich Opera since 1891, and also houses the Bernhard-Theater Zürich. It is also home to Ballett Zürich. I ...

La Scala La Scala (, , ; officially , ) is a historic opera house in Milan, Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as (, which previously was Santa Maria della Scala, Milan, a church). The premiere performa ...

Teatro Real The Teatro Real () is an opera house in Madrid, Spain. Located at the Plaza de Oriente, opposite the Royal Palace, and known colloquially as "''El Real''" (The Royal One). it is considered the top institution of the performing and musical arts ...

Vienna State Opera The Vienna State Opera (, ) is a historic opera house and opera company based in Vienna, Austria. The 1,709-seat Renaissance Revival venue was the first major building on the Vienna Ring Road. It was built from 1861 to 1869 following plans by ...

Berlin State Opera The Staatsoper Unter den Linden ( State Opera under the Lime Trees), also known as the Berlin State Opera (), is a listed building on Unter den Linden boulevard in the historic center of Berlin, Germany. The opera house was built by order of P ...

Paris Opera The Paris Opera ( ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be kn ...

and Geneva Opera. He has led orchestras such as the

Berlin Philharmonic The Berlin Philharmonic () is a German orchestra based in Berlin. It is one of the most popular, acclaimed and well-respected orchestras in the world. Throughout the 20th century, the orchestra was led by conductors Wilhelm Furtwängler (1922� ...

Vienna Philharmonic Vienna Philharmonic (VPO; ) is an orchestra that was founded in 1842 and is considered to be one of the finest in the world. The Vienna Philharmonic is based at the Musikverein in Vienna, Austria. Its members are selected from the orchestra of ...

Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra (, ) is a Dutch symphony orchestra, established in 1888 at the Amsterdam Royal Concertgebouw (concert hall). It is considered one of the world's leading orchestras. It was known as the Concertgebouw Orchestra u ...

Chicago Symphony Orchestra The Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) is an American symphony orchestra based in Chicago, Illinois. Founded by Theodore Thomas in 1891, the ensemble has been based in the Symphony Center since 1904 and plays a summer season at the Ravinia F ...

, Czech Philharmonic,

Russian National Orchestra The Russian National Orchestra () was founded in Moscow in 1990 by pianist and conductor Mikhail Pletnev. It was the first Russian orchestra to perform at the Apostolic Palace, Vatican City and in Israel. History The RNO's first recording (1991 ...

, St. Petersburg Philharmonic,

London Philharmonic Orchestra The London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) is a British orchestra based in London. One of five permanent symphony orchestras in London, the LPO was founded by the conductors Thomas Beecham, Sir Thomas Beecham and Malcolm Sargent in 1932 as a riv ...

BBC Symphony Orchestra The BBC Symphony Orchestra (BBC SO) is a British orchestra based in London. Founded in 1930, it was the first permanent salaried orchestra in London, and is the only one of the city's five major symphony orchestras not to be self-governing. The ...

Orchestre de Paris The Orchestre de Paris () is a French orchestra based in Paris. The orchestra currently performs most of its concerts at the Philharmonie de Paris. History In 1967, following the dissolution of the Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du ...

Vienna Symphony Orchestra The Vienna Symphony (Vienna Symphony Orchestra, ) is an Austrian orchestra based in Vienna. Its primary concert venue is the Vienna Konzerthaus. In Vienna, the orchestra also performs at the Musikverein and at the Theater an der Wien. History ...

, and

New Japan Philharmonic The is a symphony orchestra based in Tokyo, Japan. History It was founded in 1972 with Seiji Ozawa as honorary conductor laureate. The Philharmonic's primary concert venue is the Sumida Triphony Hall. From 2003 to 2013 its music director ...

Recordings

* Shostakovich: '' Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk'' (with Angela Denoke, Misha Didyk, Kurt Rydl, Marian Talaba, Nadia Krasteva, Chorus and Orchestra of the Vienna State Opera; Orfeo, 2011) *

Franz Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; ; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical period (music), Classical and early Romantic music, Romantic eras. Despite his short life, Schubert left behind a List of compositions ...

: ''Heliopolis'' ( Matthias Goerne, baritone; Ingo Metzmacher, piano; harmonia mundi, 2009) * Messiaen: '' Éclairs Sur L'Au-Delà...'' (with Vienna Philharmonic; Kairos, 2008) * Alban Berg: ''

Wozzeck ''Wozzeck'' () is the first opera by the Austrian composer Alban Berg. Composed between 1914 and 1922, it premiered in 1925. It is based on the drama '' Woyzeck'', which German playwright Georg Büchner left incomplete at his death. Berg attende ...

'' (with Bo Skovhus, Angela Denoke, Frode Olsen, Chris Merritt, Jan Blinkhof, Jürgen Sacher, Choir of the Hamburg State Opera, Philharmonic State Orchestra Hamburg; EMI Classics, 1999) * Henze: Symphony No. 9 (with Berlin Philharmonic; EMI Classics, 1998) * Luigi Nono: '' Prometeo. Tragedia Dell'Ascolto'' (with Ingrid Ade-Jesemann, Monika Bair-Ivenz, Peter Hall, Solistenchor Freiburg, Ensemble Modern; Ricordi/EMI Classics, 1995) * Henze: ''

Requiem A Requiem (Latin: ''rest'') or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead () or Mass of the dead (), is a Mass of the Catholic Church offered for the repose of the souls of the deceased, using a particular form of the Roman Missal. It is ...

'' (with Ueli Wiget, Håkan Hardenberger, Ensemble Modern; Sony Classical, 1994) *

Conlon Nancarrow Samuel Conlon Nancarrow (; October 27, 1912 – August 10, 1997) was an American-Mexican composer who lived and worked in Mexico for most of his life. Nancarrow is best remembered for his ''Studies for Player Piano'', being one of the first ...

: ''Studies'' (with Ensemble Modern; BMG, 1993) *

Charles Ives Charles Edward Ives (; October 20, 1874May 19, 1954) was an American modernist composer, actuary and businessman. Ives was among the earliest renowned American composers to achieve recognition on a global scale. His music was largely ignored d ...

: ''A Portrait'' (with Ensemble Modern; EMI, 1992) * Complete symphonies of

Karl Amadeus Hartmann Karl Amadeus Hartmann (2 August 1905 – 5 December 1963) was a German composer. A major figure of the musical life of post-war Germany, he has been described as the greatest German symphonist of the 20th century. Life Born in Munich, the son ...

, recorded with the Bamberg Symphony between 1993 and 1997.

Books

* *

Awards and honors

* 1996:

Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik Preis is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Alfred Preis (1911–1993), Austrian architect * Ellen Preis (Ellen Müller-Preis) (1912–2007), German-born Austrian Olympic champion foil fencer * Mary Louise Preis (born 1941), ...

for Luigi Nono’s ''Prometeo'' (with Ingrid Ade-Jesemann, Monika Bair-Ivenz, Peter Hall, Solistenchor Freiburg and Ensemble Modern) * 1998:

for the complete recording of Karl Amadeus Hartmann's symphonies (with the Bamberg Symphony) * 1998: ECHO Klassik, Conductor of the Year * 1998:

, Conductor of the Year * 1999: Niedersachsenpreis for Culture * 2000: ECHO Klassik, Symphonic Recording (with Philharmonic State Orchestra Hamburg) * 2009: Praetorius Music Prize awarded by the Ministry of Culture and Science of Lower Saxony * 2010:

, Conductor of the Year

References

External links

*
KunstFestSpiele Herrenhausen website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Metzmacher, Ingo 1957 births Living people German male conductors (music) EMI Classics and Virgin Classics artists 21st-century German conductors (music) 21st-century German male musicians Musicians from Hanover Chief conductors of the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin Chief conductors of the Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Hamburg