| At just 24 years of age, Patrick Hahn from Austria will succeed Julia Jones in the 2021/22 season, becoming the youngest General Music Director in Germany. | |
| Wuppertal, July 3, 2020 Bursting enthusiasm for music combined with extraordinary conducting precision – Patrick Hahn left a phenomenal impression already in January of this year when he conducted the Sinfonieorchester Wuppertal. In December, the acting General Music Director Julia Jones announced her decision not to renew her contract, in place since the 2016/17 season, past the 2020/21 season. Around 100 conductors from Germany and abroad applied for the vacant position with the roughly 90-member orchestra. After a three-stage selection process, the Supervisory Board of the Wuppertaler Bühnen und Sinfonieorchester GmbH approved the unanimous decision of the 11-member selection committee and appointed Patrick Hahn as General Music Director of Wuppertaler Bühnen und Sinfonieorchester GmbH. | |
| »We are thrilled to be able to gain such an exceptional talent for Wuppertal. An absolute stroke of luck for Wuppertal – for the city and the entire Bergisches Land – the music world will definitely be watching!«, Mayor and Chairman of the Supervisory Board Andreas Mucke applauds the appointment of this important position. The designated General Music Director is looking forward to the new challenges with keen anticipation: »It’s not often that the chemistry and mutual joy in making music go together as well as it did during our first collaboration at the beginning of the year.I am incredibly excited to embark on this exciting journey with such a motivated, first-class and versatile ensemble, and I am very much looking forward to the post-Covid-19 era, in which making music together might possibly hold an even more exceptional and enriching significance. Wuppertal, the birthplace of Günter Wand, provides an inspiring environment for reflecting on the visionary programming by this great German conductor. Exciting times are definitely in store for us!« | |
| Born in Graz in 1995, Patrick Hahn has won prizes in numerous competitions at home and abroad as a conductor, composer and pianist. As a conductor, he has worked with orchestras and opera houses such as the Munich Philharmonic, the orchestras of the Bavarian Radio, the Gürzenich Orchestra Cologne, the Düsseldorfer Symphoniker, the Dresden Philharmonic, the NDR Radiophilharmonie, the Hamburger Symphoniker, the Tonkunstler Orchestra of Lower Austria, the Wiener Symphoniker, the Camerata Salzburg, the Klangforum Wien, the Luzerner Sinfonieorchester, the Camerata Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Orchestra Ensemble Kanazawa, the Bavarian State Opera Munich, the Hamburg State Opera, the Hungarian State Opera Budapest and the Tyrolean Festival Erl, among others. In close collaboration with Kirill Petrenko he led rehearsals of the new productions of ›Salome‹ and ›Die tote Stadt‹ at the Bavarian State Opera Munich and of ›Fidelio‹ at the Easter Festival Baden-Baden. | |
| While still studying piano and conducting at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Graz, he was invited to master classes with Kurt Masur and Bernard Haitink and to the Aspen Music Festival and the Tanglewood Music Center as Conducting Fellow. | |
| In addition to his work in classical music, Patrick Hahn has a keen interest in the songs of Austrian chansonnier Georg Kreisler as well as in jazz music, having received awards at jazz festivals in Chicago and the »Outstanding Soloist Award« from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse as best jazz pianist at the 37th Annual Jazz Festival. In 2017 he was conferred the Achievement Award of the Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research. Exceptional versatility and an open musical mindset are the trademarks of the Sinfonieorchester Wuppertal. Founded in 1862, the orchestra is able to look back on a series of renowned conductors such as Erich Kleiber and Otto Klemperer, who began their careers in Wuppertal. With the Historic Town Hall of Wuppertal, considered one of Europe’s finest concert halls, the 88 member A-orchestra has a true gem of a home venue that was inaugurated in 1900 under the direction of Richard Strauss. International concert tours have led the orchestra to such cities as Tokyo, Milan, Paris and Amsterdam. Over the last 20 years, the symphony orchestra has also been particularly dedicated to educational programs and music education. |
Patrick Hahn is appointed General Music Director of the Wuppertaler Bühnen und Sinfonieorchester GmbH.
