A master of the German tradition, Marek Janowski is recognized throughout the world for his interpretation of Wagner, Strauss, Bruckner, Brahms, Hindemith and the Second Viennese School, and has an extensive and distinguished discography in this repertoire. His Wagner opera cycle with the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin set a new standard of performance in concertante opera, which the BBC Music Magazine described as “the sound of a Ring for the 21st century."
Marek Janowski enjoys an outstanding reputation among the premier orchestras of the world, returning this season to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Berlin Philharmonic, Gewandhausorchester for two concert weeks, NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra, WDR Symphony Orchestra, Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich and Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo, among others. He will conclude his conducting career with six concerts celebrating the NHK Symphony Orchestra’s 100th anniversary.
He has also regularly worked with orchestras such as Dresden Philharmonic Bayreuth Festival and Orchestra, Budapest Festival Orchestra, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Oslo Philharmonic, Tokyo Spring Festival, and in the USA, with the New York Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, and the National Symphony Orchestra, among others.
Lauded for his ability to create orchestras of international standing, Janowski has been sought after as Music Director and Chief Conductor. Most recently, he was Chief Conductor and Artistic Director of the Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra, both from 2019-2023 and 2001-2003. From 2002-2016 he was Artistic Director of the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin and from 2000-2005 he served as Music Director of the Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo. As Music Director of the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France (1984-2000), Marek Janowski took the orchestra to a position of pre-eminence in France and abroad. From 1986-1990, Janowski concurrently held the title of Chief Conductor of the Gürzenich-Orchester in Cologne and was Principal Guest Conductor of the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin from 1997-1999.
Born in Warsaw and educated in Germany, Janowski’s artistic path led him from assistant positions in Aachen, Cologne, Düsseldorf and Hamburg to his appointment as General Music Director in Freiburg im Breisgau (1973-75) and in Dortmund (1975-79). While in Dortmund, his reputation grew rapidly, and he was invited to conduct in many of Europe’s leading opera houses. He has been a regular guest at every world-renowned opera house since the late 1970s, from the Metropolitan Opera in New York to the Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich; from Chicago and San Francisco to Hamburg; from Vienna and Berlin to Paris. From the 1990s on, Janowski began to concentrate on the great German symphonic repertoire for which he is well known.
Janowski’s discography, built over the past 40 years, includes the iconic recording of Wagner’s Ring cycle with the Staatskapelle Dresden (1980-83). It also includes many award-winning recordings of complete opera and symphonic cycles, including the Bruckner Symphonies with the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande. Further acclaimed releases on Pentatone include Carl Maria von Weber’s Der Freischütz, recorded alongside Lise Davidsen and Andreas Schager as well as the Frankfurt Radio Symphony and MDR Rundfunkchor Leipzig, Beethoven Symphonies Nos. 5 & 6 with WDR Symphony Orchestra, Schubert’s Unfinished and Great symphonies with the Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra and Verdi’s Un ballo in maschera with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo, the Transylvania State Philharmonic Choir, and a cast headed by Freddie De Tommaso, Lester Lynch and Saioa Hernández.
Please note: Biographies are based on information provided to the CSOA by the artists or their representatives. More current information may be available on websites of the artists or their management.
