Philipp Ahmann

Philipp Ahmann’s close collaboration with the MDR Leipzig Radio Choir dates back to 2010 and has included numerous successful CD productions and concert projects. In 2013 the ensemble appointed him Principal Guest Conductor for three years. Since January 2020, Philipp Ahmann has been shaping the choir’s artistic pro¬ le as Chief Conductor.

From 2008 to 2018, Philipp Ahmann was Chief Conductor of the NDR Radio Choir in Hamburg, where he conducted renowned ensembles specializing in early and contemporary music (Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, B’Rock Orchestra, Bell’arte Salzburg, Concerto con Anima, Concerto Köln, Le Concert Lorrain, Elbipolis Baroque Orchestra Hamburg, the Raschèr Saxophone Quartet, Ensemble Resonanz, the fabergé-quintett).

He has also worked with the Gürzenich Orchestra Cologne, the MDR Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra, and the NDR Radiophilharmonie, as well as with the Berlin Radio Choir, the Groot Omroepkoor (the Dutch Public Broadcasting Foundation radio choir), the WDR Radio Choir Cologne and the SWR Vocal Ensemble Stuttgart. Productions with the Spielvereinigung Sued Bigband, the NDR Bigband, and NDR Brass bear witness to his versatility.

Philipp Ahmann has been acclaimed not only for exploring a cappella repertoire from every musical period but also for his interpretation of oratorio works. While frequently focusing on numerous Baroque works as well as key repertoire of the Classical and Romantic Periods, he has also explored many works from the modern period.

He has been a guest at renowned festivals such as the Rheingau Music Festival, the Schleswig Holstein Music Festival, the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Festival, and the International Handel Festival Göttingen. In 2019 he made his debut at the Teatro Municipal de Santiago de Chile.

Philipp Ahmann was born in 1974 and studied conducting with Marcus Creed at the Cologne University of Music. He received further impulses from Frieder Bernius, Peter Neumann and Robin Gritton as well as from working with such conductors as Seymon Bychkov, Dennis Russell Davies, Christoph von Dohnányi, Peter Eötvös, Christoph Eschenbach, Heinz Holliger, Marek Janowski, Wladimir Jurowski, Andrew Manze, Kent Nagano, Andrés Orozco-Estrada, Jukka-Pekka Saraste and Christian Thielemann.

“Art opens up worlds to us in which we can immerse ourselves, in which we can lose ourselves, and through which we can ¬find ourselves anew. Thus it enriches and widens the horizon of our lives. To lose contact with it, not to be able to feel the immediacy of its power anymore, would mean a fundamental loss. Covid-19 has made us acutely aware of this. With this in mind, the MDR Leipzig Radio Choir and I hope that the future may offer exhilarating and inspiring concert experiences and a host of stimulating encounters with our audiences.”

Photography: Andreas Lander

The artist's homepage:

https://www.mdr.de/klassik/mdr-rundfunkchor/philipp-ahmann-biographie100.html