Markus Poschner (born 1 February 1971) is a German conductor and pianist.

Biography

Born 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 ...

, Poschner studied at the

University of Music and Performing Arts Munich The University of Music and Theatre Munich (), also known as the Munich Conservatory, is a performing arts conservatory in Munich, Germany. The main building it currently occupies is the former ''Führerbau'' of the NSDAP, located at Arcisstr ...

with

Hermann Michael Hermann Michael (1937–2005) was a German symphonic and opera conductor. He studied piano and cello at the Stuttgart Conservatory and had not formally studied conducting when he audited a master class led by Herbert von Karajan in Berlin i ...

. His mentors and supporters included Sir

Roger Norrington Sir Roger Arthur Carver Norrington (born 16 March 1934) is an English conductor. He is known for historically informed performances of Baroque, Classical and Romantic music. In November 2021 Norrington announced his retirement. Life Norri ...

, Sir

Colin Davis Sir Colin Rex Davis (25 September 1927 – 14 April 2013) was an English conductor, known for his association with the London Symphony Orchestra, having first conducted it in 1959. His repertoire was broad, but among the composers with whom ...

and Jorma Panula. From 2000 to 2006, Poschner was chief conductor of the ''Georgisches Kammerorchester Ingolstadt''. He has also been first ''

Kapellmeister ( , , ), from German (chapel) and (master), literally "master of the chapel choir", designates the leader of an ensemble of musicians. Originally used to refer to somebody in charge of music in a chapel, the term has evolved considerably in i ...

'' of the

Komische Oper Berlin The Komische Oper Berlin is a German opera company based in Berlin. The company produces operas, operettas and musicals. The opera house is located on Behrenstraße, near Unter den Linden. Since 2004, the Komische Oper Berlin, along with the Be ...

. From 2007 to 2017, Poschner 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 ...

(GMD) of the city of

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (, ), is the capital of the States of Germany, German state of the Bremen (state), Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (), a two-city-state consisting of the c ...

, which encompassed chief conductorships of the

Bremer Philharmoniker The Bremer Philharmoniker is the official orchestra of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen. In addition to the music theatre in the Theater Bremen they organise 28 Philharmonic concerts per season, various special, benefit and chamber concerts a ...

and of the

Theater Bremen Theater Bremen (Bremen Theatre) is a state theatre in Bremen, Germany, with four divisions for opera, straight theater, dance, and student programs. Its venues are located in a city block, connected in architecture and seating up to 1,426 spectato ...

. Poschner became chief conductor of the

Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana The Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana (OSI; literal translation, Orchestra of Italian Switzerland) is a Swiss orchestra based in Lugano. The orchestra's primary concert venue is the ''Auditorio RSI''. The OSI also gives a concert series at the Sa ...

with the 2015-2016 season. He became chief conductor of the

Bruckner Orchestra Linz The Bruckner Orchester Linz is an Austrian orchestra based in Linz. Named for Anton Bruckner, the orchestra is the concert orchestra for the state of Upper Austria, and also the opera orchestra at the Landestheater Linz (Upper Austrian State Theatr ...

as of the 2017-2018 season. He is scheduled to conclude his tenure with the Bruckner Orchester Linz in 2027. In February 2023, the

Sinfonieorchester Basel The Sinfonieorchester Basel (Symphony Orchestra Basel; Swiss abbreviation SOB) is a symphony orchestra based in Basel, Switzerland. Its principal concert venue is the ''Musiksaal'' of the Stadtcasino. In addition, the orchestra accompanies balle ...

announced the appointment of Poschner as its next chief conductor, effective with the 2025–2026 season. In February 2025, the

Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra The Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra (German: ''ORF Radio-Symphonieorchester Wien'', or RSO Wien) is the orchestra of the Austrian national broadcaster Österreichischer Rundfunk (ORF). Unlike most other Austrian orchestras, the RSO Wien has a sub ...

(RSO Wien) announced the appointment of Poschner as its next chief conductor, effective with the 2026-2027 season, subject to whether stable funding for the future of the orchestra is secured prior to that time. In 2024, Poschner conducted Zemlinsky's ''

Der Traumgörge ''Der Traumgörge'' (''Görge the Dreamer''), Op. 11, is an opera in two acts and an epilogue by Austrian composer Alexander Zemlinsky. The libretto was written by Leo Feld based on the fairy tale by Richard von Volkmann and the poem "Der arm ...

'' 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 ...

, directed by Tilmann Köhler, with AJ Glueckert in the title role, Zuzana Marková as Gertraud, Magdalena Hinterdobler as Grete and Liviu Holender as Hans. He claimed that this was the first unabridged production of the complete music on stage of the 1907 opera that was first performed in 1980. Outside of Europe, Poschner has served as principal guest conductor of the ''Orquesta Sinfonica de Chile''. Poschner is also known as a jazz pianist. In December 2022, Poschner first guest-conducted the

Utah Symphony The Utah Symphony is an American orchestra based in Salt Lake City, Utah. The orchestra's principal venue is Abravanel Hall. In addition to its Salt Lake City subscription concerts, the orchestra travels around the Intermountain West serving ...

. He returned for a subsequent guest-conducting appearance in November 2023. In November 2024, the Utah Symphony announced the appointment of Poschner as its next music director, effective with the 2027-2028 season. Poschner took the title of music director-designate with immediate effect. Poschner and his wife Elvira have three children. Since 2010, he is an honorary professor at the

University of Bremen The University of Bremen () is a public university in Bremen, Germany, with approximately 18,400 students from 117 countries. Its 12 faculties offer more than 100 degree programs. The University of Bremen has been among the top 50 European rese ...

, where he teaches courses in

musicology Musicology is the academic, research-based study of music, as opposed to musical composition or performance. Musicology research combines and intersects with many fields, including psychology, sociology, acoustics, neurology, natural sciences, ...

and

music education Music education is a field of practice in which educators are trained for careers as primary education, elementary or secondary education, secondary music teachers, school or music conservatory ensemble directors. Music education is also a rese ...

Awards and honours

* 2004: Winner of the Deutscher Dirigentenpreis * 2018: Winner of the ICMA International Classical Music Awards with the

in the Category DVD PERFORMANCE for Rereading Brahms – Brahms: The Symphonies (Sony Classical)

References

External links

*
Künstleragentur Dr. Raab & Dr. Böhm agency page on Markus Poschner

Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana page on Markus Poschner

Markus Poschner im Porträt, Biographie on Klassik.com

Markus Poschner 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 ...

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Poschner, Markus German conductors (music) 1971 births Living people Musicians from Munich