Grafenegg Academy

Jörg Widmann is considered one of the most versatile and intriguing artists of his generation. The 2024/25 season sees him appear in all facets of his work, as a clarinettist, conductor and composer, including his second season as Principal Guest Conductor of NDR Radiophilharmonie and Creative Partner of Deutsche Radio Philharmonie, Artistic Partner of Sinfonietta Riga and Associated Conductor of Münchener Kammerorchester.

Following recent important conducting projects with orchestras such as Berliner Philharmoniker and Symphony Orchestra of the Bavarian Radio, in the 2024/25 season Jörg Widmann appears with Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra of Taiwan or the Orquestra Simfònica de Barcelona. Other highlights include his residency with Stavanger Symphony Orchestra and the Spanish premiere of his work «Danse macabre» performed by the National Orchestra of Spain in Madrid under his baton. 2025 sees Widmann make his debuts at the helm of BBC National Orchestra of Wales and NHK Symphony Orchestra for the orchestra’s Music Tomorrow series, the programme of which includes the Japanese premieres of «Danse macabre» and the trumpet concerto «Towards Paradise» with soloist Håkan Hardenberger. Re-invitations take him to Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Irish Chamber Orchestra and Orchestra Ensemble Kanazawa amongst others.  

Jörg Widmann also continues his longstanding chamber music partnerships with renowed artists such as Antoine Tamestit, Sir András Schiff, Carolin Widmann, Sarah Aristidou, Nicolas Altstaedt, Denés Varjon and Hagen Quartet and performs chamber recitals at Musikverein Wien, Pierre Boulez Saal in Berlin and Alte Oper Frankfurt.

Widmann gave the world premiere of Mark Andre’s Clarinet Concerto «über» at the Donaueschinger Musiktage 2015. Other clarinet concertos dedicated to and written for him include Wolfgang Rihm’s «Musik für Klarinette und Orchester» (1999) and Aribert Reimann’s «Cantus» (2006).

His compositions are performed regularly by conductors such as Daniel Barenboim, Daniel Harding, Kent Nagano, Franz Welser-Möst, Christian Thielemann, Iván Fischer, Andris Nelsons and Sir Simon Rattle and premiered by orchestras as Wiener and Berliner Philharmoniker, New York Philharmonic, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, London Symphony Orchestra, and many others.

Jörg Widmann studied clarinet with Gerd Starke in Munich and Charles Neidich at the Juilliard School in New York and later became himself Professor of Clarinet and Composition, first at University of Music Freiburg and since 2017 as Chair Professor for Composition at the Barenboim-Said Academy Berlin. In June 2024 Jörg Widmann was named a member of The Royal Swedish Academy of Music in consideration of his merits to musical art. He is a fellow of the Institute for Advanced Study in Berlin and a full member of the Bavarian Academy of Fine Arts, Free Academy of the Arts in Hamburg (2007), German Academy of Dramatic Arts and Academy of Sciences and Literature Mainz (2016) and received an Honorary Doctorate from University of Limerick, Ireland in February 2023.

He studied composition with Kay Westermann, Wilfried Hiller, Hans Werner Henze and Wolfgang Rihm. His works continue to receive many awards, most recently Bach-Preis der Freien und Hansestadt Hamburg, as well as Musikpreis der Landeshauptstadt München.

A wonderfully versatile musician, Carolin Widmann’s worldwide activities span the great classical concerti, new commissions specially written for her, solo recitals, a wide variety of chamber music and period instrument performances, including play/direction from the violin.

Widmann was awarded the Bayerischer Staatspreis for music in 2017. She was also the recipient of an International Classical Music Award for her recording of both Mendelssohn’s and Schumann’s Violin Concertos with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, which she herself conducted from the violin.

Named «Musician of the Year» at the International Classical Music Awards 2013, Carolin Widmann will debut with an extensive number of orchestras over the 2024/25 season, including with the Danish National Symphony, Seoul Philharmonic, Helsinki Philharmonic, Royal Scottish National Orchestra and the Philadelphia Orchestra. Further highlights will include the Robert Gerhard concerto with Orquestra Sinfònica de Barcelona, a Kurt Weill inspired play-direct programme with the Orchestre de Chambre de Paris featuring Ute Lemper, a tribute to Kaija Saariaho with SWR Symphonieorchester and the UK premiere of Jorg Widmann’s Violin Concerto No. 2 with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales. She will also be the Fondazione Arturo Toscanini's artist-in-residence for the 24/25 season.

Chamber music projects for this season will include two recitals at the Pierre Boulez Saal; a quartet programme with Nils Monkemyer, Julian Steckel and William Youn, as well a solo project for violin and electronics; and a return to the Alte Oper Frankfurt.

Carolin Widmann is playing a G.B. Guadagnini violin from 1782 which is on loan from a Charitable Trust.

VIOLIN

Bal Monika, Poland
Budiño Pinaque Pedro, Spain
Caputo Marina, Brazil
Herland Monstad Sunniva, Norway
Heusler Julia, Germany
Kim Haeun, United States of America
Kim Hannah, South Korea
Marusic Kristina, Serbia
Hung Yi-En, Taiwan
Yarovaya Elizaveta, Russia/Mexico
Zeynetdinova Ekaterina, Russia
Arnett Raina, United States of America
García García Andrea, Spain
Herrmann Carolin Susanna, Germany
Hoffmann Pauline, Germany
Choi Jin, South Korea
Sommer Henrike, Germany
Wocher Karolin Dorit, Austria/Germany
Zhang Yaodong, China
Bordoni Caterina, Italy

VIOLA

Ahafonov Oleksandr, Ukraine
Diagilev Aleksandr, Russia
Kim Doi, South Korea
Wada Miki, Japan
Oberndorfer Agnes, Austria
Lalović Marija, Croatia
Sullivan Aiden, Australia

VIOLONCELLO

Castelló Amorós Ainhoa María, Spain
Mello Matheus, Switzerland
Neri Nicolò, Italy
Sotriffer Michael, Austria
Zemskaia Daria, Russia

DOUBLE BASS

Semper Emilia, Austria
Spada Alessandro, Italy
Wagner Martin, Austria

FLUTE

Metzger Maël, France
Schauer Christoph, Austria
Zur Sagit, Israel/Poland

OBOE

Carvalho Rafaela, Portugal
García Eduardo, Spain
Sánchez Paz Marta, Spain

CLARINET

Comesaña Tonio, Spain
Ferrario Greta, Italy
Orro Taavi, Estonia

BASSOON

Ariza Nogués Lidia, Spain
Gonçalves Adriana, Portugal
Redshaw Holly, UK

TRUMPET

Baeza Tiago, Portugal
Bignamini Chiara, Italy
Klein Jonathan, Germany

TROMBONE

Gunnar Helgason, Iceland
Poggialini Perez Alberto, Spain

TUBA

Girardeau Gregoire, France

HORN

Danas Melissa, United States of Amercia
Antolin Lopez Xavier, Spain
Paul Katharina, Austria
Peinado Obrador Laura, Spain

PERCUSSION

Gappmaier Johanna, Austria
Graczyk Mikołaj, Poland
Tiozzo Netti Igor, Italy
Stephanie Nozomi Krichena, USA