Thomas Zehetmair
Thomas Zehetmair enjoys enviable international acclaim not only as a violinist, but also as a conductor and chamber musician. He is Chief Conductor of Stuttgarter Kammerorchester, Principal Conductor of the Orchestre National d’Auvergne and Artistic Partner of the Irish Chamber Orchestra.
Zehetmair has appeared as a conductor and violinist with orchestras including Seattle Symphony, Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, Swedish Chamber Orchestra, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Orchestra of the Eighteenth-Century, Budapest Festival Orchestra and Hamburger Philharmoniker. He was Chief Conductor of Orchestre de Chambre de Paris and Musikkolegium Winterthur, Artistic Partner of St. Paul’s Chamber Orchestra and Music Director of Royal Northern Sinfonia with whom he continues his association as Conductor Laureate.
In the 21-22 season, in addition to his commitments with Stuttgarter Kammerorchester, Orchestre National d’Auvergne, Irish Chamber Orchetra and Royal Northern Sinfonia, his conducting engagements include Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Orquesta Sinfónica de Castilla y León and a residency as violinist and conductor with the Poznan Philharmonic Orchestra. With the Zehetmair Quartet he will tour Europe including performances at BOZAR, Brussels and Helsinki’s House of Nobility.
Thomas Zehetmair has an extensive and varied discography as a violinist, conductor and with the Zehetmair Quartet. His recording of the Paganini Caprices attracted a Midem Classic Award and his rendition of the Elgar Concerto with the Hallé Orchestra under Sir Mark Elder received a Gramophone Award in 2010. Recent recordings include Brahms Four Symphonies and Bruckner Symphony No.3 with Musikkollegium Winterthur. He received an Opus Klassik Award 2020 for his latest CD release of Bach Six Sonatas and Partitas for solo violin which was also selected by the New York Times as one of “The 25 Best Classical Music Tracks of 2019” and by Die Zeit as one of their favourite recordings of 2019.
The Zehetmair Quartet has been awarded the Paul Hindemith Prize by the City of Hanau for outstanding musical achievement. Thomas Zehetmair was honoured by the Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik and holds honorary doctorates from the Liszt University in Weimar and Newcastle University.