Ulf Schirmer

Ulf Schirmer ( born 1959 in Eschenhausen in Bremen ) is a German conductor.

Life and work

Schirmer studied at the Bremen Conservatory and at the Musikhochschule Hamburg with György Ligeti, Christoph von Dohnányi and Horst Stein. As assistant to Lorin Maazel and resident conductor at the Vienna State Opera, he conducted numerous premieres. From 1988 to 1991 he was music director in Wiesbaden and artistic director for the symphony concerts at the Hessian State Theatre and from 1995 to 1998 chief conductor of the Danish Radio Symphony Orchestra. From the season 2006/2007 he has been artistic director of the Munich Radio Orchestra. As a guest conductor Ulf Schirmer has also appeared at the Bregenz Festival, the Salzburg Festival, the Graz Opera, the Paris Bastille, La Scala, Deutsche Oper Berlin and the Leipzig Opera. On August 1, 2009 he assumed the position of music director of the Leipzig Opera for five years. On 23 March 2011 Ulf Schirmer was chosen for 1 August 2011 as the director of the Leipzig Opera. His contract for directorship will be completed by 31 July 2016 and adjusted the contract as General Music Director of this period.

His focus as an opera conductor are the works of Richard Strauss and Richard Wagner. Schirmer is a versatile conductor, who advocates for the works of many contemporary composers. In addition, he has a broad classical repertoire with Beethoven, Bruckner and Richard Strauss in the foreground.

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