Christian Thielemann

German conductor Christian Thielemann was born on 1 April 1959 in Berlin, where he studied at the Hochschule für Musik and also learnt composition and conducting privately. At nineteen he became repetiteur at Deutsche Oper Berlin, working with Heinrich Hollreiser and Herbert von Karajan.

He worked at several smaller German theatres and assisted Daniel Barenboim at Bayreuth, returning to Deutsche Oper Berlin to conduct Lohengrin in 1991. This was followed by Elektra in San Francisco and engagements at New York Metropolitan Opera.

He was general music director of Deutsche Opera Berlin from 1997 until 2004, and was principal conductor and music director of the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra from 2004 until 2011. In 2012 he became chief conductor of the Dresden Staatskapelle.

Thielemann has denied the anti-semitic remarks regarding Daniel Barenboim which were attributed to him in 2000.

A selection of articles about Christian Thielemann

Drastically Revised - Giuseppe Pennisi looks at the detail of the replanned 2020 Salzburg Festival

Jerome Rose - In the build-up to New York's International Keyboard Institute and Festival, Richard Meszto writes about the festival's founder

Triumph and smiles - Tess Crebbin was at the Echo Classics Awards in Munich