Thomas Zehetmair (born 23 November 1961) is an Austrian

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 ...

ist and conductor. SKO 2020

Biography

Zehetmair was born in

Salzburg Salzburg is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020 its population was 156,852. The city lies on the Salzach, Salzach River, near the border with Germany and at the foot of the Austrian Alps, Alps moun ...

, and studied at the Salzburg Mozarteum, where both of his parents taught. His festival debut was at age 16. He was in master classes with

Nathan Milstein Nathan Mironovich Milstein ( – December 21, 1992) was a Russian and American virtuoso violinist. Widely regarded as one of the greatest violinists of all time, Milstein was known for his interpretations of Bach's solo violin works and for wo ...

and Max Rostal. In 1994, Zehetmair formed a string quartet which bears his name. The Zehetmair Quartet performs all works entirely from memory, and learns one new programme a year. Zehetmair has made several recordings for ECM, both as soloist and with his quartet. Zehetmair later developed a parallel career in conducting. In November 2001, he was named music director and chief conductor of the Northern Sinfonia (now the Royal Northern Sinfonia), his first conducting post, starting with the 2002–2003 season, for an initial contract of 3 years and 6 weeks of concerts each season. In August 2005, he extended his contract for another 3 years through 2008. He concluded his music directorship of the Royal Northern Sinfonia after the 2013–2014 season, and now has the title of conductor laureate with the orchestra. He became an Artistic Partner of the

Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra (SPCO) is an American chamber orchestra based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Its principal concert venue is the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts. In collaboration with five artistic partners, the orchestra's musi ...

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

in 2010. In June 2015, the

Orchester Musikkollegium Winterthur The Orchester Musikkollegium Winterthur is a Swiss symphony orchestra based in Winterthur, Switzerland at its namesake venue, the Musikkollegium Winterthur. The orchestra performs around 60 concerts a year, and in addition to orchestra concerts, ...

announced the appointment of Zehetmair as its next principal conductor, effective September 2016, with an initial contract of 3 seasons. He is scheduled to conclude his Winterthur tenure at the close of the 2020–2021 season. In October 2017, the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra announced the appointment of Zehetmair as its next chief conductor, effective with the 2019–2020 season, with an initial contract of 3 years. In March 2021, the Orchestre national d'Auvergne announced the appointment of Zehetmair as its next principal conductor, effective with the 2021–2022 season, with an initial contract of 3 years. Since May 2022, he has been Principal Conductor and Artistic Partner of the Irish Chamber Orchestra. Zehetmair is married to the violist Ruth Killius, who is also a member of the Zehetmair Quartet. He holds honorary doctorates from the Music Academy Franz Liszt in

Weimar Weimar is a city in the state (Germany), German state of Thuringia, in Central Germany (cultural area), Central Germany between Erfurt to the west and Jena to the east, southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together w ...

and

Newcastle University Newcastle University (legally the University of Newcastle upon Tyne) is a public research university based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It has overseas campuses in Singapore and Malaysia. The university is a red brick university and a mem ...

References

External links

Askonas Holt agency biography

2008 Brochure on The Sage, Gateshead

Newcastle University honours Thomas Zehetmair with honorary doctorate in Music
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zehetmair, Thomas Austrian male classical violinists Austrian male conductors (music) Austrian expatriates in England Mozarteum University Salzburg alumni 1961 births Living people Musicians from Salzburg 21st-century Austrian conductors (music) 21st-century Austrian classical violinists 21st-century Austrian male musicians 20th-century Austrian conductors (music) 20th-century Austrian classical violinists 20th-century Austrian male musicians