Thomas Zehetmair

Thomas Zehetmair enjoys wide international acclaim as a violinist as well as a conductor. He is Principal Conductor of Orchestre National Auvergne Rhône-Alpes and his position of Chief Conductor of Stuttgarter Kammerorchester has been extended until summer 2029.

Zehetmair has received much inspiration from his work as a soloist with Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Frans Brüggen, David Zinman, Daniel Barenboim, Sir Simon Rattle and Paavo Järvi. As a conductor he has appeared with orchestras including London Philharmonic, Hallé Orchestra, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Seattle Symphony, Detroit Symphony, Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, Swedish Chamber Orchestra, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Orchestra of the Eighteenth-Century, Budapest Festival Orchestra, Hamburger Philharmoniker, the symphony orchestras of MDR and SWR, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Mozarteumorchester Salzburg and Orquesta Sinfónica de Castilla y León. He was Chief Conductor of Orchestre de Chambre de Paris and Musikkollegium Winterthur, Principal Conductor of the Irish Chamber Orchestra, Artistic Partner of St. Paul Chamber Orchestra and Music Director of Royal Northern Sinfonia with whom he continues his association as Conductor Laureate. 

Thomas Zehetmair has an extensive and varied discography as a violinist, conductor and with the Zehetmair Quartet. His recording of the Paganini Caprices attracted a Midem Classic Award and he received Gramophone Awards for his rendition of the Elgar Concerto with Sir Mark Elder, and the Szymanowski concertos with Sir Simon Rattle. A Gramophone Award of the Year and four other international prizes were presented to the Zehetmair Quartet for their recording of R. Schumann quartets. Additionally, the quartet has been awarded the Paul Hindemith Prize by the City of Hanau for outstanding musical achievement.

Zehetmair received an OPUS KLASSIK Award 2020 for his CD release of J. S. Bach’s Six Solo Sonatas and Partitas recorded with baroque violin which was selected by the New York Times as one of "The 25 Best Classical Music Tracks of 2019" and by Die Zeit as one of their six favourite recordings of 2019. Recently released recordings include symphonies by Haydn with the Orchestre National Auvergne Rhône-Alpes and works by Schönberg, Bartók, Brahms and Mozart with Stuttgarter Kammerorchester. A complete recording (and performance) of all of Beethoven's symphonies with the Stuttgarter Kammerorchester is in the works.

He has lately been developing his interest in composition; noteworthy his Rondo for violin and cello, Passacaglia, Burlesque and Chorale for string trio (or a version for string orchestra) and Variations over a mediaeval theme for solo viola.  He has also completed the 1st movement of Mozart's Sinfonia Concertante for violin, viola and cello which has been recorded for Decca with the Orchestre National Auvergne Rhône-Alpes and created a 2nd violin part for Prokofiev's Solo Sonata which he recorded for Quartz. His Double Concerto for viola, cello and strings was premiered in November 2025. Zehetmair's works will be published by Schott.

Highlights of this season include touring with both Orchestre National Auvergne Rhône-Alpes and Stuttgarter Kammerorchester, his regular return to the Royal Northern Sinfonia for a program of Mozart, concerts with the Staatsorchester Hannover and a continuation of his duo collaboration with Pierre-Laurent Aimard.

Thomas Zehetmair was honoured by the Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik and holds honorary doctorates from the Liszt University in Weimar and Newcastle University.