Münchner Philharmoniker
Since its foundation in 1893, this orchestra has made an invaluable contribution to Munich’s musical life together with many renowned conductors. Under the baton by Gustav Mahler himself, they performed the world premieres of the composer’s Symphonies No. 4 and 8. And in November 1911, they premiered Mahler’s Lied von der Erde under Bruno Walter’s baton. In February 2023, the Munich Philharmonic appointed Lahav Shani as its principal conductor.
Even before taking up his post officially in September 2026, he conducts the orchestra both in Munich and on tour. With the beginning of the season 2025/2026 Shani and the Munich Philharmonic went on a European tour to Lucerne, Frankfurt, Berlin, Paris, Luxembourg and Vienna. In April 2026, the orchestra and Shani will also begin a 3-year residency at the Festival de Pâques in Aix-en-Provence. In addition to that, the Munich Philharmonic plan their first tour to Japan, Taiwan and Korea under his baton in spring 2026.
Among the pioneering conductors who have worked with the Munich Philharmonic include such luminaries as Ferdinand Löwe, Eugen Jochum, Hans Rosbaud, Fritz Rieger and Rudolf Kempe. In 1979, the orchestra appointed Sergiu Celibidache as its musical director. The legendary Bruckner concerts under his baton boosted its international reputation. From 1999 to 2004, the Munich Philharmonic’s principal conductor was James Levine.
In 2004, Zubin Mehta was appointed as the orchestra’s first ever conductor laureate. Christian Thielemann continued the Munich Bruckner tradition during his tenure from 2004 until 2011 as well as upholding the classical-romantic repertoire. He was succeeded by Lorin Maazel, who was the orchestra’s principal conductor until his death in 2014. His successor, Valery Gergiev, held this position from 2015 to 2022, during which time they recorded all of Anton Bruckner’s symphonies in St. Florian basilica on the orchestra’s own MPHIL label.
True to the Munich Philharmonic’s new motto, »Being approachable and breaking new ground«, the orchestra reaches out to new audiences with regular formats such as mphil late, and Wandelkonzerte, not only at the Isarphilharmonie, which was inaugurated in 2021. With Spielfeld Klassik, the Munich Philharmonic offers a comprehensive, cross- generational outreach programme, which is attended by around 40,000 people of all ages every year.
