Anja Bihlmaier’s musical intuition, charisma, and passion allied with precision make her one of the leading conductors of her generation. Currently Principal Guest Conductor of the BBC Philharmonic, she has led ensembles such as the National Symphony Orchestra (Washington, DC), London Philharmonic Orchestra, and Vienna Symphony and has conducted at Glyndebourne. Recent debuts include the Seattle Symphony, NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra, Munich Philharmonic, and Berlin Staatsoper, where she conducted Cassandra (new production).

In 2025/26, she conducts the London Symphony Orchestra, Helsinki Philharmonic, Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, Orchestre National de Lyon, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, and Staatsoper Hamburg in Elektra. Notable returns include the Spanish National Orchestra in Madrid and the Sydney and Melbourne symphonies. In autumn 2025, she entered her second season with the BBC Philharmonic and continued her residency at the Beethovenfest Bonn conducting the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, with which she also opened the 2025 Musikfest Berlin.

Bihlmaier studied in Freiburg and then in Salzburg with Dennis Russell Davies, later joining the Deutsche Dirigentenforum and receiving a scholarship from the Brahmsgesellschaft Baden-Baden.