„Christian Zacharias is also remarkable as a conductor. He captures and transmits the energy of Schumann’s Symphony No. 4, bringing the ideal combination of suppleness, rigor and warmth. He makes the orchestra sound like one of the great German orchestras, with that deep and mysterious, rich and colorful sound that is representative of the German Romantic repertoire. The audience was thrilled!“

Zacharias is a narrator among the conductors and pianists of his generation. In each of his elaborate, detailed and clearly articulated interpretations, it’s clear what he means: Zacharias is interested in what lies behind the notes.

With a unique combination of integrity and individuality, brilliant linguistic expressiveness, deep musical understanding, and a sure artistic instinct, paired with his charismatic and engaging artistic personality, Christian Zacharias has established himself not only as a world-class pianist and conductor, but also as a musical thinker. Numerous acclaimed concerts with the world’s best orchestras and outstanding conductors as well as multiple honors and recordings characterize his international career.

Since 2021/2022 Christian Zacharias is Principal Guest Conductor at the Orquesta Ciudad de Granada, as well as from 2020-2023 at the Orquestra Sinfonica Do Porto Casa da Musica. He is also Associate Conductor of the Orchestre National Auvergne Rhône-Alpes. In 2020, Zacharias was appointed Honorary Conductor of the George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra Bucharest. In general, the Classical-Romantic repertoire forms an important musical focus, as in concerts with the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana, the Orchestre National du Toulouse, the Frankfurt Opera and Museum Orchestra as well as the Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte Carlo and the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. He is also a welcome guest with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Konzerthausorchester Berlin, the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra, the Stuttgart Philharmonic Orchestra or the National Orchestra of Lyon.

Piano recitals, which are occasionally still part of the full calendar, take him to the metropolises of Europe, including Paris, London, Madrid, Essen, as well as the Schubertiade and Piano aux Jacobins in Toulouse.

In addition to recitals, Zacharias offers his audience impressive musical insights in piano lectures on topics such as Why does Schubert sound like Schubert or Haydn, A Creation from Nothing?

A particular fondness of opera has led to him directing productions of Mozart’s La Clemenza the Tito and The Marriage of Figaro, as well as Offenbach’s La Belle Hélène. The production of Nicolai’s The Merry Wives of Windsor, which he conducted at the Opéra Royal de Wallonie in Liège, was awarded the Prix de l’Europe Francophone 2014 by the Association Professionnelle de la Critique Théâtre, Musique et Danse in Paris.

Since 1990, the following films have been produced featuring Christian Zacharias: Domenico Scarlatti in Seville, Robert Schumann – the Poet Speaks (both for INA, Paris), Zwischen Bühne und Künstlerzimmer (for WDR-arte), De B comme Beethoven à Z comme Zacharias (for RTS, Switzerland) and the complete Beethoven piano concertos (for SSR-arte).

The musical work of Zacharias has been honored many times, for example with the Midem Classical Award Artist of the Year 2007, the Officier dans l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres of the French state and a tribute from Romania for his services to culture. In addition, he was appointed a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music in 2016, and in 2017 received an honorary doctorate from the University of Gothenburg.

Numerous internationally acclaimed recordings were made during his time as Principal Conductor of the Lausanne Chamber Orchestra. Particularly noteworthy are the recordings of the complete Mozart piano concertos – awarded the Diapason d’Or de l’Année, Choc du Monde de la Musique and ECHO Klassik – and all Schumann symphonies. After almost twenty years, two albums with sonatas by Haydn and partitas and suites by Bach appeared with MDG in 2022/2023.

From 2015-2021, Christian Zacharias was chairman of the jury of the Clara Haskil Competition, and in 2018 president of the jury of the Geza Anda Competition where he also conducted the final concert.

2023/2024 season | Quote: Crescendo Magazine, April 11th 2023
Amendments or edits need the consent of Künstlersekretariat Astrid Schoerke GmbH

© 2013 by Christian Zacharias