Hartmut Haenchen was born in the former East Germany and despite the severe restrictions of the regime, he was given special permission to work with the West’s finest ensembles, including four appearances with the Berlin Philharmonic. However he was forced to move to the Netherlands, where he held the positions of Music Director of both the Netherlands Philharmonic and the Netherlands Opera.

During his 13 years long directorship at the Netherlands Opera he has embraced a wide-ranging repertoire, including the operas of Strauss, Mozart, Wagner, Verdi, Puccini, Tchaikovsky, Gluck, Berg, Shostakovich and Mussorgsky. He continues to appear there regularly as the Principal Guest Conductor and recently enjoyed critical success conducting Wagner’s Ring in a cycle directed by Pierre Audi. Opera magazine reported ‘roof-shattering applause’ with ‘Haenchen and his orchestra getting especially thunderous ovations’.

Other recent productions in Amsterdam include Wagner’s Tannhäuser and Strauss’s Capriccio, and plans include a new production of Der Fliegende Holländer (2009), Die Soldaten (2010), and a further Ring Cycle (2012-2014). Hartmut Haenchen has worked with many important opera houses. At the Opéra National de Paris he conducted Strauss’s Salome (2006), Capriccio (2007) and an excellently-received new production of Parsifal in 2008. Productions in 2009 include Lady Macbeth of Mtsenk and Wozzeck. Other plans include a new production of Parsifal at La Monnaie, Brussels and also at the Royal Opera, Copenhagen, and several appearances at Teatro Real, Madrid including a new production of Boris Godunov. Other houses where he has received international acclaim include Munich, Vienna and the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.

Among Haenchen’s current and forthcoming orchestral engagements throughout the world are concerts with the Munich Philharmonic, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, Oslo Philharmonic, Montreal Symphony Orchestra, Japan Philharmonic, Academia di Santa Cecilia, Tonhalle Zurich and Orchestre de Paris. As well as being a conductor, Hartmut Haenchen is the author of many books on music. His knowledge of musical structure is fundamental to the authority of his interpretations. Therefore his breadth of experience and depth of understanding have won respect, while audiences have warmed to the humanity of his interpretations. In October 2008 he was awarded the Federal Cross of Merit of the German Republic, in recognition of his outstanding contribution to music and the arts.