Born in Dingolfing, conductor Johannes Zurl is currently principal conductor at the Cottbus State Theater. After his studies, he was a scholarship holder of the Karajan Academy of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra and a prizewinner at the ARD International Music Competition in Munich. He conducted several times as a guest of the American Academy of Conducting at the Aspen Music Festival. In the 2012/2013 season he made his debut with the Deutsche Symphonie Orchester Berlin, with whom he also recorded a CD of works by Paul Hindemith for the cpo label. In winter 2016, his highly acclaimed second CD was released on the cpo label, this time with the Hamburg Symphony Orchestra and works by Friedrich Gernsheim. 2019/2020 saw return appearances with the Hamburg Symphony Orchestra, among others, as well as his debut with the Rundfunk Sinfonie-Orchester Berlin with concerts and a CD recording for the Sony Classical label. In addition, he also appeared as conductor in a new classical music broadcast series on Second German Television and made his debut at the Elbphilharmonie in 2020. That same year, he was nominated for the 2020 Opus Klassik award. Zurl has conducted the Badische Staatskapelle, the Bochumer Symphoniker, the Neue Philharmonie Westfalen, the Orquestra Nacional do Porto, the Nederlands Philharmonisch Orkest, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, and the Tonhalle Orchester Zürich, among others. Moreover, he is also a welcome guest as a clarinetist at festivals such as the Heidelberger Frühling, the Beethovenfest Bonn, the Jerusalem Chamber Music Festival, the Schubertiade Schwarzenberg, and the Aldeburgh Music Festival.

Photo: (c) Jule Hinrichsen