ThomasZehetmair
- Conductor
- Violin
About Thomas
Principal Conductor: Stuttgarter Kammerorchester Principal Conductor: Irish Chamber Orchestra Principal Conductor: Orchestre National d'Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Conductor Laureate: Royal Northern Sinfonia
Thomas Zehetmair enjoys international acclaim as a violinist, conductor and founding member of Zehetmair Quartet. Thomas received much inspiration from his work as a soloist with Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Frans Brüggen, Daniel Barenboim, Sir Simon Rattle and Paavo Järvi.
As a conductor, he has appeared with orchestras including London Philharmonic, The Hallé, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Seattle Symphony, Detroit Symphony, Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, Swedish Chamber Orchestra, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Orchestra of the Eighteenth-Century, Budapest Festival Orchestra, Hamburger Philharmoniker, Mozarteum Orchester and Orquesta Sinfónica de Castilla y León.
He was Chief Conductor of Orchestre de Chambre de Paris and Artistic Partner of St. Paul’s Chamber Orchestra and Music Director of Royal Northern Sinfonia.
Thomas has an extensive and varied discography, including Paganini's Caprices, which won a Midem Classic Award. He received Gramophone Awards for his rendition of the Elgar Concerto with Sir Mark Elder and Szymanowski Concertos with Sir Simon Rattle. A Gramophone Award of the Year and four other international prizes were presented to the Zehetmair Quartet for their recording of Schumann Quartets.
He received an Opus Klassik Award 2020 for his disc of Bach's Six Solo Sonatas and Partitas, recorded with Baroque violin, which was also selected by The New York Times as one of “The 25 Best Classical Music Tracks of 2019” and Die Zeit as one of their six favourite recordings of 2019.
Contact
For availability and general enquiries:
Melanie Moult
For contracts, logistics and press:
Fiona Russell
Representation
General Management with Askonas Holt
Partner managers:
Germany, Austria, Switzerland: Eva Wagner, Astrid Schoerke Kunstlersekretariat
Japan: Chikako Itagaki, Novellette Arts Management
Follow Thomas
Season Highlights
Sample Programmes
Solo Bach
J. S Bach: Solo Sonatas & Partitas Sonata No. 1 in G minor BWV 1001 Partita No. 1 in B minor BWV 1002 Sonata No.2 in A minor BWV 1003 Partita No.2 in D minor BWV 1004 Sonata No. 3 in C major BWV 1005 Partita No.3 in E major BWV 1006
Solo
Biber: Passacaglia in G minor Zimmermann: Sonata for solo violin Hartmann: Sonata No.1 for solo violin interval Bach: Partita No.2 in D minor BWV 1004
With Pierre-Laurant Aimard, piano
Schubert: Duo in A major Webern: Vier Stücke Schubert: Rondo Brilliant in B minor interval Schönberg: Fantasie Schubert: Fantasie
with Ruth Killius, viola
Skalkottas: Duo Mozart: Duo in G major KV423 Holliger: Drei Skizzen interval Mozart: Duo in B flat major KV424 Martinu: Madrigale or Klein: Duo for violin and viola Zimmermann: Sonata for violin solo "Hommage a Bach" (1951) Bartok: choice from "44 Duos" (1931) Mozart: Duo for Violin and Viola in B flat major KV424
Trio with Ruth Killius, viola and Daniel Haefliger, cello
Beethoven: String Trio in D major Op.9/2 T Zehetmair: Passacaglia, Burleske and Choral for string trio interval Martinu: String Trio No.1 H136 Beethoven: String Trio in C minor Op.9/3
News
Press
Scottish Chamber Orchestra
Queens Hall EdinburghOct 2021Zehetmair’s high-energy, high-impact approach really came into its own in the concert’s closer, Haydn’s “Oxford” Symphony, from a shapely, stylish slow movement (with supple, sculpted contributions from principal flautist André Cebrián), to a boisterious (sic) minuet and trio that would have made its dancers break a sweat.
- The Scotsman
- 15 October 2021
Seattle Symphony
Benaroya HallJan 2020Zehetmair displayed great dynamic contrast between exuberance and delicacy. The effect was invigorating and provided an exuberant ending to the evening.
- Bachtrack
- 19 January 2020
Bach: solo sonatas and partitas
recordingDec 2019...it is the more reflective episodes, beautifully veiled and intimate, that one remembers, while in the sonatas the contrapuntal detail is perfectly transparent, without ever being over-articulated. Some may prefer a more demonstrative approach to these perpetually fascinating pieces, but Zehetmair’s thoughtfulness is hugely rewarding in its own right.
- The Guardian
- 05 December 2019
The G minor sonata’s Presto Finale and the B minor Partita’s Presto Double finds Zehetmair’s virtuosity completely intact, together with newfound ferocity and abandon. An intelligent, inquiring mind and spirit informs these interpretations, for all of their quirks and provocative moments.
St Paul Chamber orchestra
Jun 2017Thomas Zehetmair might have been born to conduct Beethoven's Seventh Symphony: His wiry dynamism is perfectly suited to its teemingly bacchanalian energies...The concert opened with Mendelssohn's Overture "The Fair Melusina." In Zehetmair's intense conception, this emerged as a mini-drama of contending emotions, the gently rippling figurations of the water sprite offsetting the bluntly priapic music of the knight she fatefully marries.
- Star Tribune
- 11 June 2017
Schumann Violin Concerto
RecordingMar 2016Schumann’s Violin Concerto has a tricky history. It was composed in 1853 but deemed so weird at the time that it wasn’t performed until 1937, when it was hijacked for Nazi propaganda. Nowadays, advocates such as Thomas Zehetmair give the troubled and soulful piece the love it deserves. He first recorded it for Teldec in 1988 and recently helped prepare a new urtext edition – sorting out centuries of editorial meddling. His new account is warmer, more declamatory, more openly glorious in lyrical passages.
- The Guardian
- 24 March 2016
Discography
- Perspectives
- Schubert: String Quartet No. 14
- Bartok Casken Beethoven
- Bach: Solo sonatas and partitas
- Brahms: Symphonies
- Schumann: Violin Concerto
- Britten
- Mendelssohn: Symphonies 1 & 5
- Schubert, Gal Vol 2
- Schubert, Gal
- Mantos and Madrigals
- Stravinsky
- Paganini Capricci
- Ysaÿe: Sonatas for solo violin
- Brahms Violin Concerto
