Composition continues to occupy a central place in Widmann’s artistic activities. His latest orchestral work, Overture on B‑A-C‑H based on sketches by Ludwig van Beethoven, will be premiered by Gewandhausorchester under Andris Nelsons in May 2027 within a Beethoven cycle. A month earlier, in April 2027, Staatskapelle Dresden under Daniele Gatti will give the world premiere of a new version of his VIII. Streichquartett (Beethovenstudie III) as part of a Beethoven focus at Semperoper.
As a passionate chamber musician, Widmann maintains long-standing artistic partnerships with Carolin Widmann, Isabelle Faust, Sir András Schiff, Antoine Tamestit, Dénes Várjon and Clemens Hagen, with whom he appears throughout 2026/27 at venues including Semperoper Dresden, Boulez Saal and Lucerne Festival Forward.
Leading composers have dedicated concertos to Widmann. At the Donaueschinger Musiktage 2015 he gave the world premiere of Mark Andre’s Clarinet Concerto über. Other milestones include Wolfgang Rihm’s Musik für Klarinette und Orchester (1999) and Aribert Reimann’s Cantus (2006). Most recently he premiered Olga Neuwirth’s clarinet concerto Zones of Blue, written for him, with Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks and Sir Simon Rattle in February 2026, followed by international first performances with orchestras such as Orquestra Simfònica de Barcelona and The Cleveland Orchestra.
Conductors including Daniel Barenboim, Daniel Harding, Kent Nagano, Franz Welser-Möst, Christian Thielemann, Iván Fischer, Andris Nelsons and Sir Simon Rattle have championed Widmann’s music for many years. His works have been premiered by leading orchestras such as Wiener and Berliner Philharmoniker, New York Philharmonic, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, The Cleveland Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris and London Symphony Orchestra, where they have become an established part of the repertoire.
Jörg Widmann was Composer in Residence with Berliner Philharmoniker during the 2023/24 season. The residency culminated in the widely acclaimed world premiere of his Concerto for Horn, performed by soloist Stefan Dohr and the orchestra under Sir Simon Rattle. In February 2025, Cantata in tempore belli received its first performance with Staatsorchester Hamburg under Kent Nagano at Elbphilharmonie. This was followed in June 2026 by the premiere of Jupiter-Etüde at Mozartfest Würzburg.
Jörg Widmann studied clarinet with Gerd Starke in Munich and Charles Neidich at the Juilliard School in New York. He later became Professor of Clarinet and Composition, first at the University of Music Freiburg and since 2017 as Chair Professor for Composition at the Barenboim-Said Academy Berlin. Widmann is a full member of the Bavarian Academy of Fine Arts, Free Academy of the Arts in Hamburg and Academy of Sciences and Literature Mainz. In June 2024, he was elected to the Royal Swedish Academy of Music. He also holds an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Limerick, Ireland and serves as President of the International Max-Reger-Society. In November 2026, he will be awarded the International Mendelssohn Prize Leipzig.
He studied composition with Kay Westermann, Wilfried Hiller, Hans Werner Henze and Wolfgang Rihm. His work has received widespread recognition, including the prestigious Bach-Preis der Freien und Hansestadt Hamburg, as well as Musikpreis der Landeshauptstadt München.
