
Artistic director of the Biel Solothurn Symphony Orchestra, in Switzerland, from 2012 to 2022, and music director of the Hradec Králové Philharmonic Orchestra, in the Czech Republic, since 2018, Kaspar Zehnder was previously music director at the Zentrum Paul Klee in Berne from 2005 to 2012 and succeeded Jiří Bělohlávek as principal conductor of the Prague Philharmonia from 2005 to 2008. He also held the role of artistic director for the Murten Classics Festival from 1999 to 2020.
After his successful debut at La Scala in Milan, in 2007, he has been asked to conduct numerous orchestras throughout Europe. In addition to this, he is a guest at the greatest concert halls in Europe and numerous international festivals, such as Les Folles Journées at Nantes and Tokyo, as well as the La Roque d’Anthéron’s International Piano Festival.
He feels equally at home with both an operatic and symphonic repertoire, and he also conducts prestigious opera productions: Carmen, The Tales of Hoffmann, The Marriage of Figaro, The Diary of Anne Frank, Così fan tutte, La Damnation de Faust, Rusalka, The Abduction from the Seraglio, The Barber of Seville, La Traviata and The Magic Flute. The production of Weisse Rose, which he conducted at Biel-Solothurn, was awarded the “Armel” prize for the best production of 2017 and was then performed in Vienna, London, Oslo and Krakow.
Both as flutist and conductor, he works together with Magdalena Kožená, Natalia Gutman, Patricia Kopatchinskaja, Viviane Hagner, Claire Huangçi, Francesco Piemontesi, Louis Lortie, Rafael Aguirre, Judith Jauregui, Alison Balsom, Alena Baeva, Nicola Benedetti, Henri Demarquette, Augustin Dumay, Maria João Pires, and others He has also been performing with the ensembles "Mit Vier" and "Paul Klee” for several years.