German conductor Lothar Zagrosek began his musical career as a member of the Regensburg cathedral choir. He studied conducting with Hans Swarovsky, István Kertész, Bruno Maderna and Herbert von Karajan. After posts as General Music Director in Solingen and in Krefeld-Mönchengladbach, he was appointed Chief Conductor of the Austrian Radio Symphony Orchestra in Vienna. Subsequently he spent three years at the helm of the Paris Opéra (1986–9), during which period he was also Chief Guest Conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra. From 1990 to 1992 Lothar Zagrosek was General Music Director of the Leipzig Opera. Since 1995 he has been associated with the Junge Deutsche Philharmonie as First Guest Conductor and Artistic Advisor. From 1997 to 2006 Lothar Zagrosek was General Music Director of the Stuttgart State Opera. During his highly successful tenure this company obtained the critics’ award ‘Opera Company of the Year’ five times, with Lothar Zagrosek named ‘Conductor of the Year’ twice. From 2006 to 2011 he served as Chief Conductor of the Konzerthausorchester Berlin.

Internationally acclaimed for his operatic work, he has conducted at the Vienna Staatsoper, Staatsoper Hamburg, Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Semperoper Dresden, Théâtre de la Monnaie in Brussels, the Royal Opera House Covent Garden and at the Glyndebourne Festival.

In concert Lothar Zagrosek has worked with many of the major international orchestras, including the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, the Berlin Philharmonic, Munich Philharmonic, all the major German radio orchestras, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Vienna Symphony, London Philharmonic, Orchestra dell’Accademia di Santa Cecilia, Orchestre National de France, Atlanta Symphony, Orchestra Symphonique de Montréal and NHK Symphony Orchestra Tokyo. He has appeared at prestigious festivals such as Wiener Festwochen, Berliner Festwochen, the BBC Proms, the Munich Opera Festival and the Salzburg Festival, and is a regular guest at the festivals for contemporary music in Donaueschingen, Berlin, Brussels and Paris.

Being passionate about musical education and the support of young talent, Lothar Zagrosek is Patron of the ‘Offensive for Cultural Education’ in Berlin, Honorary Chairman of the Jury of the ‘Hochschulwettbewerb Dirigieren’, and Chairman of the Artistic Advisory Council of the Conducting Forum of Deutscher Musikat. In 2006 he was granted the ‘Hessischer Kulturpreis’ in Frankfurt. For his achievements the Association of German Critics awarded him the ‘Critics Award 2009’ in the field of music.