Christoph Poppen

Conductor, soloist, chamber musician and pedagogue: in the international musical world Christoph Poppen has made a name for himself in diverse forms, winning many awards.

Music Director: Hong Kong Sinfonietta
Principal Conductor: Kölner Kammerorchester
Artistic Director: Marvão International Music Festival
Principal Guest Conductor: Israel Chamber Orchestra

Conductor, soloist, chamber musician and pedagogue, Christoph Poppen has made a name for himself in diverse roles in the international musical world. Since the 2023/24 season he is Music Director of Hong Kong Sinfonietta. Collaborations with such illustrious artists as Kevin Zhu, Nicolas Altstaedt, Martin Helmchen, Denis Kozhukhin and Alexander Gadjiev highlight his concerts with the orchestra.

As Hong Kong Sinfonietta’s Principal Guest Conductor between 2015 – 2023, Poppen has presented to the Hong Kong audience a rich repertoire ranging from Austro-German masterpieces to contemporary works. In the last season, he premiered three new works commissioned by the orchestra. Away from Hong Kong, he continues his highly successful collaborations with Cologne Chamber Orchestra as Principal Conductor and Israel Chamber Orchestra as Principal Guest Conductor, while being the Artistic Director of the Marvão International Music Festival. Both Hong Kong Sinfonietta and Cologne Chamber Orchestra have just renewed Christoph Poppen’s contracts. Highlights of the 2025/26 season include engagements with the the Incheon Philharmonic Orchestra, Athens State Orchestra and Orchestra di Padova e del Veneto , as well as conduction masterclasses and violin masterclass engagements across Europe and Asia in 2026/2027.

His discography is further enriched by the continuation of the recorded cycle of the complete Mozart Masses with Cologne Chamber Orchestra for Naxos which has been highly praised by the international press. The latest release date (Vol.5) is September 2026.

From 1995 – 2006, Poppen was Artistic Director of Munich Chamber Orchestra, establishing the ensemble’s new profile in a short period of time. His distinctive programmes, often contrasting classical and contemporary styles with numerous commissioned works, were highly successful. In 2006, he was appointed Music Director of Radio Symphony Orchestra Saarbrücken and from 2007 – 2011, he was Music Director of the newly formed Deutsche Radio Philharmonie. He has appeared with orchestras such as Vienna Symphony, Staatskapelle Dresden, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Detroit Symphony, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Bamberg Symphony, Camerata Salzburg, Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, Residentie Orkest, Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo, Indianapolis Symphony, Seoul Philharmonic, New Japan Philharmonic and Singapore Symphony Orchestra. As an opera conductor, he has enjoyed acclaimed collaborations with Staatsoper Stuttgart, Oper Frankfurt, Opera Köln, Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa, Aalto-Musiktheater in Essen and the RuhrTriennale.

Founded by Poppen in 2014, the Marvão International Music Festival has grown to become a highly successful and award-winning musical event featuring soloists such as Jörg Widmann, Augustin Hadelich, Javier Perianes and Clara-Jumi Kang. He also founded the Academy for Music, Arts and Science in Marvão in 2019, and was the Artistic Director of the Classic Revolution Festival in Seoul, South Korea between 2020 – 2022.

As a prize-winning violinist, Poppen co-founded the Cherubini Quartet in 1978. He was appointed Professor of Violin and Chamber Music at Hochschule für Musik Detmold, and later at Hanns Eisler Hochschule für Musik in Berlin, where he was President from 1996 to 2000. From 2001 to 2005, he was Artistic Director of the renowned ARD International Music Competition. Since 2003, he has been Professor of Violin and Chamber Music at Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Munich. Since the 2021/2022 academic year, he has been Chair Professor of Violin at the prestigious Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía in Madrid.

worldwide general management

“Under experienced German conductor Christoph Poppen the Danish National Symphony Orchestra give a terrifically disciplined yet adrenalised account of these highly demanding scores… A compelling disc, all told, for every bold-leaning lover of big-sounding symphonies.”

(Musicweb International, August 2013)

“It’s been an interesting first season for the impressively named Deutsche Radio Philharmonie Saarbrücken Kaiserslautern… The most solid connecting factor was the Music Director, Christoph Poppen, whose contract with the Philharmonie has been renewed until 2011.”

(Gig, November 2008)

“Christoph Poppen conducts with a flowing baton.”

(The Times, May 2008)

“Soprano Juliane Banse is perfectly suited to such vocal writing, and under Christoph Poppen, the strings of the German Radio Philharmonic sound wonderfully lustrous.”

(The Guardian, April 2008)