Anja Bihlmaier

Anja Bihlmaier’s strong musical instinct, abundant charisma and natural leadership have propelled her to the forefront of recently established conductors both on the symphonic and operatic stages. In August she assumes the role of Chief Conductor of the Residentie Orkest in The Hague alongside her position as Principal Guest Conductor of the Lahti Symphony Orchestra.

Bihlmaier opens the 21/22 season at the Amsterdam Concertgebouw commencing her tenure as Chief Conductor of the Residentie Orkest, swiftly followed by opening concerts of the orchestra’s long-anticipated new hall, Amare. Besides regular concerts in Amsterdam and The Hague, she conducts the orchestra
at the Bodensee Festival in May and a tour of Germany is planned next season. Programmes include Mahler Symphony No 4, Sibelius Symphonies Nos 2 and 5 and Verdi Requiem, plus Schumann Symphonies which will be recorded for later release.

Elsewhere this season Bihlmaier conducts the BBC Symphony, BBC Philharmonic, Finnish Radio Symphony, Swedish Radio Symphony, Danish National Symphony, Iceland Symphony, Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne, Kammerakademie Potsdam, Swedish Chamber and Pacific Symphony Orchestras all for the first time, and returns to Gothenburg Symphony, Orquestra y Coro Nacional de España and Barcelona Symphony, amongst others.

With diverse repertoire ranging from Haydn through to Mahler alongside Sibelius, Bartók, Dvořák, Tchaikovsky, Debussy, Louise Farrenc and Mikko Heiniö, Anja Bihlmaier has recently conducted the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, NDR Radiophilharmonie Hannover, MDR Sinfonieorchester Leipzig, Deutsche Radio Philharmonie Saarbrücken, City of Birmingham Symphony, BBC Scottish Symphony and Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestras.

With a passion for opera, Bihlmaier amassed 15 years of experience from positions at Staatsoper Hannover, Theater Chemnitz and Staatstheater Kassel with productions including Tchaikovsky Eugene Onegin, Bizet Carmen, Massenet Werther, Mozart Le Nozze di Figaro and Dvořák Rusalka. More recently she conducted Gounod Faust with Trondheim Opera, Britten A Midsummer Night’s Dream for Malmö Opera and has regularly conducted Volksoper Wien including productions of Carmen, Die Fledermaus, Le Nozze di Figaro and Henry Mason’s highly acclaimed new production of Die Zauberflöte. Future plans include Der Fliegende Hollände in Tampere.

Following studies at the Freiburg Conservatory of Music, Anja Bihlmaier won a scholarship to study with Dennis Russell Davies and Jorge Rotter at the Salzburg Mozarteum. She won further scholarships from the Brahms Foundation and was admitted onto the Deutsche Dirgentenforum. She now makes her home in The Hague where she can indulge her love of nature, surfing and cycling.