©Photo: Andreas Hechenberger

©Photo: Melanie Stegemann

©Photo: Andreas Hechenberger

Christoph Koncz

Conductor

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Music Director: Orchestre symphonique de Mulhouse
Chief Conductor: Deutsche Kammerakademie Neuss am Rhein

Austrian conductor Christoph Koncz is highly acclaimed, and this season marks his second as Music Director of Orchestre Symphonique de Mulhouse, while he continues his tenure as Principal Conductor of Deutsche Kammerakademie Neuss am Rhein. His highlights thus far have included collaborations with Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Dresden Staatskapelle, Orchestre de Paris, Mahler Chamber Orchestra, hr-Sinfonieorchester Frankfurt, London Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, and City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. This upcoming season, he returns to the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra and the Orchestre Métropolitain de Montréal. He will also conduct the Symfonieorkest Vlaanderen with Johannes Moser,Utah Symphony Orchestra with Gautier Capuçon, Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano, and make his debut with Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. He is passionate about expanding the classical music repertoire, often championing works by lesser-known composers.

An established opera conductor, this upcoming season he will also lead productions with Opera North (Die Zauberflöte), Opéra National du Rhin (La traviata), and return to Prague State Opera for performances of Don Giovanni. He also conducts a production of The Winter’s Tale at Wiener Staatsballett.

Christoph Koncz has appeared the Salzburg Festival as well as Festival Masevaux with Orchestre Symphonique de Mulhouse. He has also conducted the Pan-Caucasian Youth Orchestra at the Tsinandali Festival with Lisa Batiashvili. He also collaborates with soloists such as Renaud Capuçon, Stéphanie D’Oustrac, Alexandre Kantorow, Gautier Capuçon, Alexander Malofeev and Eloise Bella Kohn. This season took him around the world, from the Orchestra Ensemble Kanazawa in Japan to Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo with pianist Vikingur Ólafsson.

During the 2023/24 season, he undertook recording projects with Deutsche Kammerakademie Neuss am Rhein as well as London Symphony Orchestra with Alma Deutscher. Past recording collaborations also include Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin and the Philharmonia Orchestra. As a violoinist his recording of the complete violin concertos as soloist and conductor with Les Musiciens du Louvre was released by Sony Classical in 2020 under the title “Mozart’s Violin,” causing an international sensation for being the first recording of these famous works on the composer’s original Baroque violin. The Strad described Koncz’s performance as “a masterly demonstration of melodic playing.”

Originally a violinist, he joined the Vienna University of Music at six and held the position of principal second violin of Wiener Philharmoniker for over 15 years, playing a 1707 Stradivarius. His debut at the 2013 Salzburg Mozartwoche was followed by performances at renowned venues such as Berlin, Cologne, Hamburg, and Munich Philharmonie, Vienna Musikverein and Konzerthaus, KKL Lucerne, and Concertgebouw Amsterdam, as well as at the Salzburg Festival.

HarrisonParrott represents Christoph Koncz for worldwide general management.

Gallery

RTS Radio Télévision Suisse © ARTE Concert

Christoph Koncz | Schumann: Overture, Scherzo and Finale © Christoph Koncz

“The exemplary conducting, attentive to each and everyone, impresses with its energy and its ability to consolidate the best in the service of the work.”

Forum Opera, September 2023

“Koncz is a unique phenomenon to be admired as one of the greatest.”

Scherzo, February 2023

“The symphony […]: precisely structured and with verve, excitingly carried by a conductor who is bursting with inspiration.”

Der Standard, Austria, November 2022

“A brilliant, full-throttle performance displayed conductor and orchestra at their best.”

South Florida Classical Review, October 2022

“It was above all a beautiful ensemble work by the Deutsche Kammerakademie Neuss am Rhein, under the dexterous baton of Christoph Koncz, with playful perfection”

(Mundo Clasico, May 2022)

“Koncz’s luxurious and engaging interpretation of Johannes Brahms’ masterful and expansive Symphony No.1 in C minor saw the Hong Kong Philharmonic hit all the right buttons and more.”

(Christopher Halls, South China Morning Post, May 2021)

“Conducted by heart and delivered with conviction and enthusiasm by the musicians, Brahms’ 2^nd Symphony unfolded in beautiful sound clarity.”

(Le Temps, Nov 2020)

“If I could own only one set of the Mozart violin concertos, this would be it.”

(Terry Robbins, The WholeNote, December 2020)

“In the second part, Brahms’ Second Symphony impresses more thanks to the young Christian Koncz…a conductor to follow!”

(Crescendo Magazine, November 2020)

“The Neussers love their orchestra and are already worshiping the charming young man…who elicited some beautiful phrases, filigree structures and a wonderfully silvery string tone from the Viennese classics with a very organic approach.”

(Das Orchester, May 2020)

“Christoph Koncz’s conducting can be described as “breathtaking” without exaggeration.”

(RP Online, Feb 2020)

“His extremely precise conducting could be admired right from the start of Beethoven’s overture to his only opera ‘Fidelio’: He carried the intimate opening theme all the way up to the crisp ending of the stormy victory anthem.”

(NGZ Online, 12 January 2020)

“Christoph Koncz, the smile of music. The conductor’s temperament burst out in Schumann’s little symphony, which does not bear the title correctly. Koncz’s gestures are clear, enthusiastic; he supports and encourages the musicians, stimulating by example the lyricism of the Opening and the energy of the Final. […] In this piece as on stage, and
probably in life, Koncz smiles at the music. […] With a lot of common sense, Koncz operates by accumulation of energy, almost placing the Second Symphony of Brahms in an extension of the First, in a great movement of “post-Beethoven symphonic liberation” culminating in a radiant finish. Christoph Koncz will return to Montreal. That’s for sure!”

(Le Devoir, Canada, March 2019)

“Rapturous applause. Christoph Koncz was a sensitive and stylistically confident conductor in both concerts. With Mozart’s Parisian symphony (KV 297), the young Viennese conductor showed how transparent a Mozart symphony can sound. He had all the wind players mix their colours into the overall sound and made all the string parts audible in a distinct way. In Schubert’s 3^rd Symphony in D major, he was completely in his element and his joy in conducting was transferred to the whole orchestra. Consequently, he succeeded in delivering an interpretation full of youthful freshness, liveliness and lightness, a real celebration of music. Huge applause for this captivating conducting. We can only hope to see Christoph Koncz on the podium in Jena again soon.”

(Ostthüringer Zeitung, Germany, March 2016)

“Simply brilliant. Christoph Koncz fascinates with an incredible presence, sends impulses in all directions, communicates perfectly with the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, and combines virtuosity with enormous expressive potential.”

(Der Bund, Switzerland, December 2005)