Jun Märkl (born 11 February 1959 in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

) is a German

conductor Conductor or conduction may refer to: Biology and medicine * Bone conduction, the conduction of sound to the inner ear * Conduction aphasia, a language disorder Mathematics * Conductor (ring theory) * Conductor of an abelian variety * Cond ...

Biography

One of three children born to a Japanese pianist mother and a German violinist father, Märkl studied

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

and the

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

as a youth. Beginning in 1978 at the

Musikhochschule Hannover A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music academy, music faculty, college of music, music department (of a larger in ...

he continued his piano and violin studies and also began to study conducting. He later attended the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

where his mentors included

Gustav Meier Gustav Meier (13 August 1929 – 26 May 2016) was a Swiss-born conductor and director of the Orchestra Conducting Program at the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University. He was also Music Director of the Greater Bridgeport Symphony Orche ...

. He was also a pupil of

Sergiu Celibidache Sergiu Celibidache (; ; 13 August 1996) was a Romanian people, Romanian Conducting, conductor, composer, musical theorist, and teacher. Educated in his native Romania, and later in Paris and Berlin, Celibidache's career in music spanned over fi ...

. He later won a conducting stipend to

Tanglewood Tanglewood is a music venue and Music festival, festival in the towns of Lenox, Massachusetts, Lenox and Stockbridge, Massachusetts, Stockbridge in the Berkshire Hills of western Massachusetts. It has been the summer home of the Boston Symphony ...

, where he was under the tutelage of

Leonard Bernstein Leonard Bernstein ( ; born Louis Bernstein; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was th ...

and

Seiji Ozawa was a Japanese conductor known internationally for his work as music director of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the San Francisco Symphony, and especially the Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO), where he served from 1973 for 29 years. After cond ...

. From 1991 to 1994, Märkl served as Music Director of the Saarländisches Staatstheater in

Saarbrücken Saarbrücken (; Rhenish Franconian: ''Sabrigge'' ; ; ; ; ) is the capital and largest List of cities and towns in Germany, city of the state of Saarland, Germany. Saarbrücken has 181,959 inhabitants and is Saarland's administrative, commerci ...

. From 1994 to 2000, he was ''

Generalmusikdirektor A music director, musical director or director of music is a person responsible for the musical aspects of a performance, production, or organization. This would include the artistic director and usually chief conductor of an orchestra or concert ...

'' and director of opera at the

Mannheim National Theatre The Mannheim National Theatre () is a theatre and opera company in Mannheim, Germany, with a variety of performance spaces. It was founded in 1779 and is one of the oldest theatres in Germany. History In the 18th century Mannheim was the cap ...

. In the U.S. he made his

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera is an American opera company based in New York City, currently resident at the Metropolitan Opera House (Lincoln Center), Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Referred ...

conducting debut in February 1999 with '' Il trovatore'', and returned in December 2000 with ''

Turandot ''Turandot'' ( ; see #Origin and pronunciation of the name, below) is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to a libretto in Italian by Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni. Puccini left the opera unfinished at the time of his death in 1924; it ...

''. In 2005, Märkl became music director of the Orchestre National de Lyon (ONL). With the ONL, he conducted several recordings for the Naxos label, including music of

Claude Debussy Achille Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionism in music, Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influe ...

Maurice Ravel Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism in music, Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composer ...

, and

Olivier Messiaen Olivier Eugène Prosper Charles Messiaen (, ; ; 10 December 1908 – 27 April 1992) was a French composer, organist, and ornithology, ornithologist. One of the major composers of the 20th-century classical music, 20th century, he was also an ou ...

. Märkl concluded his ONL tenure in 2011. In September 2007, he became principal conductor of the

MDR Symphony Orchestra The MDR-Sinfonieorchester (MDR Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra) is a German radio orchestra based in Leipzig. It is the radio orchestra of Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk, the public broadcaster for the German states of Thuringia, Saxony and Saxony-A ...

in Leipzig. Märkl resigned from this post after the 2011–2012 season. Märkl became musical advisor to the Basque National Orchestra (Orquesta de Euskadi) effective with the 2014–2015 season. In November 2014, the orchestra elevated Märkl's title to chief conductor with immediate effect, through the 2015–2016 season. He concluded his tenure with the Basque National Orchestra in June 2017. In May 2019, the

Residentie Orchestra Het Residentie Orkest (; known also in English as ''Residentie Orkest The Hague'') is a Dutch orchestra based in The Hague. The orchestra is currently resident at the Amare performing arts centre in The Hague. History Henri Viotta founded the orch ...

announced the appointment of Märkl as its co-principal guest conductor, effective in 2021. In December 2023, the Residentie Orchestra announced the appointment of Märkl as its next chief conductor, effective with the 2025–2026 season, with an initial contract of four years. Outside of Europe, in October 2020, the

National Symphony Orchestra (Taiwan) The National Symphony Orchestra (NSO; ), also known as Taiwan Philharmonic () outside Taiwan, is one of the leading orchestras in Asia. Since 1987, the orchestra has its residence in the National Theater and Concert Hall (Taiwan) in Taipei, Taiwa ...

announced the appointment of Märkl as an artistic advisor for the period of 2021–2022, and subsequently as its next music director, effective 1 January 2022. In December 2020, the

Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra The Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra (MPO; ) is a Malaysian orchestra based in Kuala Lumpur. The orchestra is resident at the Petronas Philharmonic Hall (Dewan Filharmonik Petronas). It is one of Asia's leading orchestras and is praised for its ...

announced the appointment of Märkl as its next music director, effective with the 2021 season. In May 2021, the

Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra The Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra (ISO) is a major American orchestra based in Indianapolis, Indiana. The largest performing arts organization in Indiana, the orchestra was founded in 1930 and is based at the Hilbert Circle Theatre in downtown ...

announced the appointment of Märkl as its artistic advisor for the 2021–2022 season. In January 2024, the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra announced the elevation of Märkl's title to music director-designate with immediate effect, and his appointment as the orchestra's next music director, effective with the 2024–2025 season, with an initial contract of 5 years. Märkl and his wife Susanne have four children.

References

External links

Official webpage of Jun Märkl

MusicVine agency biography of Jun Märkl

Jun Märkl discography
at

Naxos Records Naxos comprises numerous companies, divisions, imprints, and labels specializing in classical music but also audiobooks and other genres. The premier label is Naxos Records, which focuses on classical music. Naxos Musical Group encompasses about ...

Robert Hugill, Review of Naxos 8.572174. Music Web International website, 10 March 2010
{{DEFAULTSORT:Markl, Jun 1959 births Living people German male conductors (music) German people of Japanese descent Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover alumni University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance alumni 21st-century German conductors (music) 21st-century German male musicians Music directors of the Orchestre National de Lyon