Biography
The Swiss conductor Christoph-Mathias Mueller has been the General Music Director of the Göttingen Symphony Orchestra since 2005. Under his leadership the orchestra has become one of the most inspiring ensembles in German-speaking countries. Captivating energy, artistic authenticity, and high intellectual standards characterize his style. The international press ranks him “without a doubt” among “the most gifted and most interesting conductors of his generation” (Gazeta Kultura, Moscow) and attests to his “passion” (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung), which, in combination with a compelling precision, enables him to convey works in and off the mainstream to both musicians and the public. He has worked intensively and frequently with numerous world-class artists such as Frank Peter Zimmermann, Simone Kermes, and Reinhold Friedrich.
Mueller regularly guest-conducts on the world’s great stages, his most recent performances including appearances with the Norwegian Radio Orchestra Oslo and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. His debut at the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow created a sensation in 2010, when he conducted a new production of Die Fledermaus. In addition he will conduct Der Rosenkavalier during the 2012/13 season. Performances with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra and the world premiere of eminent Swiss composer Rudolf Kelterborn’s Fifth Symphony at the composer's special request in Basel, are among the many highlights of the upcoming season.
Mueller, a Swiss national born in Peru in 1967, made his international breakthrough in 2000, winning the International Conducting Competition in Cadaqués, Spain. He received his Master's degree in violin performance at the Basel College of Music, and his Master of Music in conducting at the University of Cincinnati. In 1995 he perfected his skills as a Conducting Fellow in Tanglewood, Massachusetts, working with Seiji Ozawa, Robert Spano, and Leon Fleisher.
During 2001-05 Claudio Abbado appointed Mueller as the assistant conductor for the Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester, which he also conducted at the Lucerne Easter Festival and before the Olympic Committee in Lausanne, and during 2003-05 as his assistant conductor with the Lucerne Festival Orchestra. During the 2004/05 season Mueller served as the Music Director of the Cairo Symphony Orchestra. He made his debut in Moscow with the Russian National Orchestra, and further guest performances have taken him to the stages of the Czech Philharmonic, Orchestre National de Lyon, Tonhalle Orchestra of Zurich, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, German Symphony Orchestra of Berlin, Orchestra of the Hessian Radio of Frankfurt, Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Scharoun Ensemble of the Berlin Philharmonic, and Ensemble Modern. In addition, he has conducted at the Musikverein in Vienna, Tonhalle in Düsseldorf, Philharmonic Hall in Cologne, as well as in Stavanger, Toyko, and Seoul.
