About this Artist
CHRISTIAN ZACHARIAS launched his conducting career in 1992, making his debut with the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, and he has since been regularly invited to all the renowned European orchestras. In the year 2000, he made his U.S. conducting debut with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and he conducted the New York Philharmonic for the first time in 2006. Since this time, he is also a welcome guest at other famous American orchestras. Furthermore, Zacharias has an intensive collaboration with the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra. At the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra’s annual Mozart Festival, he holds the position of Artistic Director.
In 2006, Zacharias conducted his first opera production – Mozart’s La clemenza di Tito, at the Geneva Opera House. Jacques Offenbach’s opera bouffe La belle Hélène followed in December 2008, in cooperation with the Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne.
Christian Zacharias is one of the most distinguished pianists of his generation. Known for his consistent and uncompromising individuality, Zacharias regularly generates international attention with recitals in all the major venues in Europe, Japan, and the U.S.; award-winning recordings; and concerts with the world’s leading orchestras and conductors. Christian Zacharias also appears in chamber music recitals with partners such as the Alban Berg Quartet, the Leipzig String Quartet, cellist Heinrich Schiff, and violinist Frank Peter Zimmermann.
Zacharias recorded on the EMI label through 1997; since then he has a recording contract with Dabringhaus und Grimm. Among his recordings are numerous award-winners; for example, the CD with fantasies, rondos, and other piano works by Mozart, which has been awarded the Diapason d’Or. With the Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne, he has produced several recordings with works by Mozart, Schumann, Chopin, and Michael Haydn. Especially acclaimed is the complete recording of Mozart’s piano concertos with the Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne, which earned the ECHO Classic 2008 (for Vol. III), the Diapason d’Or, the Choc du Monde de la Musique, the “ECHO Classic 2009 (for Vol. IV), and the ECHO Classic 2010 (for Vol. V). Among his most recent releases is a double CD with Robert Schumann’s Piano Quintet, Op. 44, and his Op. 41 String Quartets, recorded with the Leipzig String Quartet.
Moreover, Christian Zacharias regularly takes part in radio broadcasts and the production of documentary films. Domenico Scarlatti in Seville, Robert Schumann – The Poet Speaks (both for INA, Paris), Between stage and greenroom (for WDR-arte), and Zacharias, Scarlatti, Avison et les autres… (TSR) have already been realized.
In January 2007, Christian Zacharias was awarded the Midem Classical Award “Artist of the Year” in Cannes. After having been honored for his services to the culture of Romania in 2009, Christian Zacharias has recently been bestowed with the title of Officier dans l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French state.
For further information please visit ChristianZacharias.com.