MARC NIEMANN
Conductor
BIO
Marc Niemann is considered one of the most versatile and intriguing conductors of his generation. Thanks to his curiosity for rarely performed and contemporary repertoire, combined with classical-romantic works in creative concert programs, he has developed a distinctive artistic profile in recent years.
As General Music Director of the Stadttheater and Philharmonic Orchestra of Bremerhaven, he regularly delivers performances characterized by a balance between meticulous attention to detail and a passionate, dramatic approach. His initiative to include a work by a female composer in every concert program, introducing the first “non-dogmatic female quota” in concert programming, has gained significant international attention.
The Stadttheater Bremerhaven was awarded the German Federal Theater Prize, partly due to the rediscovery of the opera Bluthochzeit by Hungarian composer Sándor Szokolay, conducted by Marc Niemann. The Philharmonic Orchestra of Bremerhaven was also included in the federal government’s “Exzellente Orchesterlandschaft” program, in recognition of its innovative drive.
In 2018, Marc Niemann was nominated for “Conductor of the Year” by the magazine Opernwelt for his interpretation of The Consul by Gian Carlo Menotti, and in 2023, he was again nominated as “Conductor of the Year” for the world premiere recording of Emilie Mayer’s Sixth Symphony at the Opus Klassik awards. This recording was nominated as Symphony Recording of the Year at both the Opus Klassik and ICM Awards 2022. Niemann’s discography also includes contemporary works, film music, the complete cycle of Beethoven symphonies, and works by Swiss composer Hans Schaeuble.
Due to his deep interest in contemporary music and modern music theater, he has formed close collaborations with notable composers and personalities such as Detlev Glanert, Giorgio Battistelli, Prof. Siegfried Matthus, Mauro Montalbetti, Elena Kats-Chernin, Lera Auerbach, James Reynolds, and Johann Kresnik. He has worked with internationally renowned soloists including Jan Lisiecki, Alban Gerhardt, Dietrich Henschel, Patrizia Ciofi, Jochen Kowalski, Matthias Kirschnereit, Tianwa Yang, Ragna Schirmer, Mari and Momo Kodama, Daniel Ottensamer, Antje Weithaas, Gabriel Schwabe, Christian Brückner, and Benno Fürmann.
His international activity has been equally remarkable: over the years, he has conducted orchestras such as the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestra della Toscana, the Orchestra di Padova e del Veneto, the Philharmonic of Florence, the Sinfonietta Riga, the Berliner Symphoniker, the State Orchestra of Braunschweig, the Magdeburg Philharmonic, the Bielefeld Philharmonic, the Koblenz Rhine Philharmonic, the Wuppertal Symphony Orchestra, the Schwerin Staatskapelle, the Robert Schumann Philharmonic of Chemnitz, the Neue Philharmonie Westfalen, the Philharmonic Orchestra of Heidelberg, the State Theater Orchestra of Cottbus, the Classical Philharmonic of Bonn, and the Kammerakademie Potsdam.
He has been a guest at important festivals, including the Cantiere Internazionale d’Arte di Montepulciano, where he served as Music Director in 2022, the Beethovenfest Bonn, the Realtime Festival for Contemporary Music in Bremen, and the Jerusalem Lyric Opera.
