Marko Letonja

Marko Letonja ranks among the prominent conductors to have arisen from southeastern Europe, with leadership posts spanning multiple western European nations and Australia. Born August 12, 1961, in Maribor, Slovenia’s second city, he initially favored rock music until a high school music teacher introduced him to the classics by assigning him direction of the school orchestra. He trained in conducting and piano at the Academy of Music in Ljubljana, where Anton Nanut was among his teachers, then continued at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna under Otmar Suitner, completing his studies in 1989. Shortly thereafter he secured his first major post, serving as music director of the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra from 1991 to 2003.

In 2003 he assumed simultaneous duties as music director of the Sinfonieorchester Basel and as music director and chief conductor of Theater Basel, overseeing operatic productions. Throughout the 2000s he remained active in both orchestral and operatic spheres, appearing at La Scala, the Semperoper in Dresden, and the Staatsoper in Berlin. His recording career began with the Sinfonieorchester Basel through a cycle of the symphonies of Felix Weingartner that extended past his departure from the orchestra in 2006. Between 2008 and 2011 he held the post of principal guest conductor with Orchestra Victoria Melbourne and led productions at the Stuttgart State Opera in Germany. He has also appeared as guest conductor with the Munich Philharmonic, the Vienna Symphony, and the West Australian Symphony. In 2012 he became chief conductor of the Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg in France, remaining until 2021 and issuing several recordings with the ensemble, including a 2022 album featuring Janáček’s Glagolitic Mass. Since 2019 he has served as music director of the Bremen Philharmonic.