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“Somebody like Mahler takes you by the hand and pulls you from the darkness to the light. The same with Beethoven — it’s all about fighting for human rights. Bruckner is totally different, because it’s about us; it’s not an ego thing. It’s just floating, building up its own world, which is on the one hand so mystic, and on the other hand, so down to earth, grounded here.”
“The subsequent performance of Bruckner’s 'Ninth' became a fundamental event under Poschner. The Bruckner Orchestra blossomed under the expansive conducting of its leader. As the final Adagio movement faded away, Poschner followed it with a minute’s silence dedicated to the composer on his 200th birthday, before frenetic applause erupted in the packed basilica.”
Markus Poschner is a natural-born leader whose unique artistic vision is beloved by artists and audiences alike. Recognized as one of the world’s finest conductors, this season, he continues his tenures as Chief Conductor of Bruckner Orchester Linz and Principal Conductor of Orchestra della Svizzera italiana. Poschner also holds the designate titles of Chief Conductor of Sinfonieorchester Basel and Music Director of Utah Symphony, commencing fully in 2025–26 and 2027–28, respectively.
In addition to honoring this year’s Bruckner centennial across the world, 2025–26 highlights include a return to Opernhaus Zürich with Strauss’s Ariadne auf Naxos, as well as symphonic guest appearances with Dallas Symphony, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Dresdner Philharmonie, Düsseldorfer Symphoniker, Antwerp Symphony, and NHK Symphony Orchestra Tokyo.
A celebrated figure on the podium, Poschner conducts at leading orchestras and opera houses including Staatskapelle Berlin, Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden, Münchner Philharmoniker, Konzerthausorchester Berlin, RSB Berlin, Bamberger Symphoniker, RSO-Wien, Wiener Symphoniker, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Netherlands Philharmonic, Staatsoper Berlin, Staatsoper Hamburg, Oper Frankfurt, and Wiener Staatsoper. A specialist for his interpretations of Romantic German repertoire, he has an ongoing relationship with the Bayreuth Festival, with whom he appeared first in Abu-Dhabi in 2019 with Wagner’s Die Walküre. He then opened their 2022 festival and returned in summer 2023 both with Tristan und Isolde.
Poschner Continues to receive great acclaim for his impact in concert and through recordings. He received the 2024 Special Achievement Award by the jury of the International Classical Music Awards for his cycle of the complete Bruckner symphonies with Bruckner Orchester Linz and the ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra; the 2020 Austrian awards “Orchestra of the Year” and “Conductor of the Year” with Bruckner Orchester Linz; another International Classical Music Award in 2018 for his Sony Classical recording of the complete Brahms symphonies with the Orchestra della Svizzera italiana (recognized for its completely new reading of these works); and the 2021 German Record Critics’ Award for Offenbach’s Maître Péronilla with the Orchestre National de France.
Fresh after finishing his studies in Munich, Poschner worked closely with Sir Roger Norrington and Sir Colin Davis as their assistant. His first position was as First Kapellmeister of the Komische Oper Berlin, and from 2007 to 2017, he was General Music Director of the Bremen Philharmonic. In July 2010, the University of Bremen appointed him an honorary professor, as did the Anton Bruckner University in Linz in 2020.
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