Vita

Johannes Zurl is First Kapellmeister at the Staatstheater Cottbus. Born in Dingolfing, he studied with Prof. Karl-Heinz Steffens, Prof. Steven Sloane and Kurt Masur. He was a scholarship holder of the Karajan Academy of the Berlin Philharmonic and is a prizewinner of the ARD International Music Competition in Munich.

Before turning to conducting, Zurl pursued a career as an orchestral clarinettist, performing with Germany’s leading orchestras and touring the world with the Berlin Philharmonic. He subsequently completed a master’s degree in conducting at the Berlin University of the Arts. At the outset of his conducting career, Lorin Maazel invited him to the Castleton Festival as a Conducting Fellow. He also worked as a répétiteur for Hans Graf, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos and Christian Thielemann.

Zurl made his operatic debut with FIDELIO at Theater Hagen in 2015. This was followed by his concert debut with the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin in a programme of works by Hindemith, including a recording for cpo. In 2019, he made his debut with the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, conducting concerts as well as a recording for Sony Classical. He has also appeared as conductor of a new classical music programme for ZDF and made his debut at the Elbphilharmonie in 2021. He was nominated for the OPUS KLASSIK Award in 2020. In the 2023/24 season, he conducted a series of performances of LA BOHÈME at the Tiroler Landestheater. His second recording with the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin was released in 2024.

Zurl regularly teaches at the University of Music, Drama and Media Hannover and at the Berlin University of the Arts, where he also held a teaching position in orchestral conducting from 2020 to 2022.

Johannes Zurl has conducted orchestras including the Brandenburger Symphoniker, Badische Staatskapelle, Staatsorchester Frankfurt/Oder, Theater Magdeburg, Bochumer Symphoniker, Collegium Musicum Basel, Neue Philharmonie Westfalen, Staatstheater Hannover, Orquestra Nacional do Porto, Nederlands Philharmonisch Orkest, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich.

Alongside renowned soloists, he has appeared at festivals including the Heidelberger Frühling, Beethovenfest Bonn, Jerusalem Chamber Music Festival, Schubertiade Schwarzenberg and Salzburg Festival. He also conducted the world premiere of Jörg Widmann’s Quintet for Piano and Winds.

His discography comprises eight recordings for Naxos, cpo, Hänssler Classic and Sony Classical. His recent operatic repertoire ranges from ORFEO and DIE LUSTIGE WITWE to LE NOZZE DI FIGARO, DIE ZAUBERFLÖTE, DER FREISCHÜTZ, OTELLO, LA BOHÈME, MADAMA BUTTERFLY, TOSCA, MAZEPPA, DER FLIEGENDE HOLLÄNDER, DER ROSENKAVALIER and THE CUNNING LITTLE VIXEN.

2026-08-31

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Staatstheater Cottbus | FILMMUSIKKONZERT (Schindlers Liste)

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