Prof. Christoph-Mathias Mueller

Zurich University of the Arts

Christoph-Mathias Mueller is the current recipient of the renowned Opus Klassik Award 2020 for Best Symphonic Recording featuring the works of Alexander Veprik and recorded with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales.

Born in Peru in 1967, Christoph-Mathias Mueller grew up in Switzerland and went on to study violin in Basel. He received his Master of Music from the University of Cincinnati. He has been based in Germany for many years and has worked all over the world. From Summer 2021, Christoph-Mathias Mueller takes over the artistic direction of the renowned summer festival, Murten Classics, in Switzerland.

He came to international attention in 2000 following his triumph at the International Conducting Competition in Cadaqués, Spain. He has worked as a Conducting Fellow at Tanglewood with legendary figures including Seiji Ozawa, Robert Spano and Leon Fleisher. In 2001, Claudio Abbado invited him to serve as Assistant Conductor for the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra as well as the Lucerne Festival Orchestra.

Following one year as Chief Conductor of the Cairo Symphony in Egypt, he accepted the position of Chief Conductor with the Goettingen Symphony Orchestra in Germany where he later became the General Music Director, a collaboration which lasted for 13 years. Their successful work together was recognized with two ECHO Klassik prizes in both 2013 and 2017.

As a Guest Conductor, Christoph-Mathias Mueller has been closely associated with Moscow’s Bolshoi Theater where he made an acclaimed debut in 2010 with a new production of Johann Stauss’ “Der Fledermaus” and where he has since returned for a production of “Der Rosenkavalier.” He embarked on an ambitious project which involved the premiere of two reconstructed opera scores by Claude Debussy and was featured on Deutschlandradio’s Kultur program as well as recorded for release.

A versatile conductor, Christoph-Mathias Mueller can also be found on the podium of ensembles including Ensemble Modern. Among the composers who entrusted him with their works for premiere are names such as Dieter Schnebel, Rudolf Kelterborn and Isabel Mundry. In recent years, a particular special focus has been placed on music of composers who were victims of regimes and whose music is awaiting (re-) discovery such as Ursula Mamlok, Adolf Busch, Alexander Weprik and Mikhail Nosyrev.

Current recordings by the conductor are devoted to orchestral works by Alexander Veprik with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and works for violin and orchestra by Wolfgang Rihm, together with ECHO prize-winner Tianwa Yang. Mueller’s wide-ranging discography also includes a number of highly acclaimed recordings for Sony Classical, including the album “Bel Canto” with Simone Kermes and the original sound specialists at Concerto Köln.

In addition to conducting at the Vienna Musikverein, the Cologne Philharmonic, the Konserthus Stavanger and the Suntory Hall in Tokyo, Christoph-Mathias Mueller regularly gives concerts with internationally renowned orchestras including with the Russian National Orchestra, the Czech Philharmonic, the Orchester National de Lyon, the Orchester de Chambre de Lausanne, the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, the Royal Scottish Chamber Orchestra, the DSO Berlin and the SWR Symphony Orchestra, as well as the orchestras in Düsseldorf, Duisburg, Bochum, Weimar, Jena, and Ludwigshafen. Upcoming engagements include engagements with the Hessian State Orchestra Wiesbaden, the Staatskapelle Schwerin and the Bremen Philharmonic.