Biography

Thomas Zehetmair is one of today’s most outstanding artistic personalities. As violinist as well as conductor and chamber musician he is highly regarded worldwide. He is Music Director of the Northern Sinfonia in England,   Artistic Partner of the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, USA and from the 2012/2013 season he takes up his position as Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor of the Orchestre de Chambre de Paris (formerly Ensemble Orchestral de Paris).

Concert tours with the Northern Sinfonia have led him to the Hong Kong Festival, the Netherlands, Scandinavia and Germany. Furthermore, Thomas Zehetmair and the Northern Sinfonia have released the following successful recordings for Avie Records: Brahms’ Violin concerto and Schumann’s Symphony No. 4 with Thomas Zehetmair in double function as soloist and conductor, a disc of Sibelius’ Symphonies 3 and 6, Stravinsky’s Violin Concerto in D Major, a CD of Schubert’s Symphony No. 6 and Gál’s Symphony No. 1, and most recently Beethoven Symphony No. 9 and Gal’s Symphony No. 2. On the NMC label he has recorded a CD entitled ‘Unknown Britten’ with Northern Sinfonia and Sandrine Piau.

Thomas Zehetmair has recorded nearly the entire violin repertoire and a number of his CDs have been multiply decorated. His latest CD releases include B. A. Zimmermann’s “Canto di speranza” with the WDR Symphony Orchestra under Heinz Holliger (“Diapason d’Or de l’Année”), the 24 Capricci by Paganini (honory list of the German Record Critics’ Award, Midem Classic Award 2010), Elgar’s Violin concerto with the Hallé Orchestra under Mark Elder (Gramophone Award 2010) as well as Mozart’s Violin concertos with the Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century under Frans Brüggen, referred to as a reference recording. Most recently, in March 2011, ECM published the recording “Manto and Madrigal” on which Thomas Zehetmair and his duo partner Ruth Killius explore modern and contemporary repertoire for violin and viola.

Thomas Zehetmair works as guest conductor with orchestras such as the Hungarian National Orchestra, National Philharmonic Orchestra Warsaw, Hallé Orchestra Manchester, Camerata Salzburg, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Bayerischer Rundfunk Symphony Orchestra Munich, Konzerthausorchester Berlin and the Orchestre National de Lyon.

His 2012/13 season includes concerts with Nederlands Symfonie Orkest, Lausanne Chamber Orchestra, Netherlands radio Chamber Orchestra, Tonkünstler Orchestra Vienna and Bamberg Symphony Orchestra. As violinist Thomas Zehetmair will appear at the most renowned European music centres including a residency at Salzburg Festival, which includes the world premiere of the ‘Double Concerto’ for violin & viola by Heinz Holliger, a performance with the Vienna Philharmonic, a solo recital and a concert with the Zehetmair Quartet.

In 2005, Thomas Zehetmair was honoured with the German Record Critics’ Award for his versatile artistic work as soloist, conductor and chamber musician.

In 2007 he was awarded the “Karl-Böhm Interpretation Award” of the Austrian State Steiermark during a ceremony at Graz Castle. The laudation was presented by Heinz Holliger.

Thomas Zehetmair holds honorary doctorates from the Music Academy Franz Liszt in Weimar and Newcastle University, UK.

For further information about Thomas Zehetmair's projects with the Northern Sinfonia please visit the homepage www.thesagegateshead.org/sinfonia/index.aspx.