Leipzig Philharmonic Orchestra

The philharmonic orchestra Leipzig presents excellent musical performances in its home city and on concert tours worldwide. The orchestra enriches cultural life in Leipzig and Germany and has earned broad, international recognition. The warm and dark sound of the German tradition, combined with insights from historical performance practice, is praised by critics and audiences alike. The concert programmes are first presented in Germany and then repeated on concert tours to the most famous auditoriums in the USA, Italy, Sweden, Russia, China, Korea, India and Latin America. The Philharmonie Leipzig has performed convincingly at Carnegie Hall New York, the Harris Theatre Chicago, the Hall of the People Beijing, the Grand Theatre Shanghai and the Oriental Arts Center Shanghai, at the Royal Music Festival Stockholm, the Philharmonie St. Petersburg, the International House of Music Moscow, the Seoul Arts Center, the National Center for the Performing Arts Mumbai, the Chowdiah Concert Hall Bangalore, etc. Radio and television broadcast concerts or reported on the orchestra, such as ARD, ZDF, DeutschlandRadio, HR2, RAI3, CCTV, Russia TV 1, Indian National TV and others.

The Philharmonics perform with renowned and internationally awarded soloists such as Guy Braunstein (Berlin Philharmonic), Prof. Christian Funke (Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra), Lothar Strauß (Berlin Staatskapelle), Giuliano Sommerhalder (Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra) and Michael Barenboim. Renowned guest conductors are also invited to conduct the orchestra for festivals and gala concerts.

Holger Engelhardt, violin

Holger Engelhardt, born in Aachen in 1979, received his first violin lessons at the age of nine. In 1995, he was discovered at a violin competition by Professor Klaus Hertel from Leipzig and was taught by him from then on. From 1997 to 2002 he studied violin with Professor Hertel in Leipzig. During his studies he was already concertmaster of the Junge-Europa-Philharmonie, the Saxony State Youth Orchestra and the Symphony Orchestra of the Leipzig Academy of Music and Theatre under conductors such as Phillipe Herreweghe, Kurt Masur and Herbert Blomstedt. Holger Engelhardt attended master classes by Max Frischenschlager (Vienna), Gérard Poulet (Paris) and was a scholarship holder of the Richard Wagner Foundation (Bayreuth). After his exams Holger Engelhardt was tuttist of the 1st violins in the Gewandhaus Orchestra for two years. In 2004, he joined the Anhaltische Philharmonie Dessau as deputy concertmaster.

Since then, the violinist has also appeared regularly as a soloist - at the Stadttheater Schweinfurt, the Anhaltisches Theater Dessau, the Gewandhaus zu Leipzig and on tours in Central America (Honduras, Nicaragua), the USA (New York, Boston) and India (Delhi). Since 2008 he has been concertmaster of the 2nd violins in the Musikalische Komödie of the Leipzig Opera. Holger Engelhardt plays a violin by Josef Klotz from 1795.

Michael Koehler, conductor

Maestro Michael Koehler is known for excellent performances and concerts. His unique concerts in Germany and cultural centres worldwide enrich cultural life and win special recognition. The dark and warm sound of his orchestras, grown out of the German tradition, is particularly recognised by audiences and critics. Michael Koehler is principal conductor of the Philharmonic Orchestra Leipzig and general music director of the Shanxi Symphony Orchestra in China. He was appointed professor at Shanxi University in Taiyuan.
Michael Koehler has performed at the Berlin Philharmonie, Konzerthaus Berlin, Gewandhaus Leipzig, Beethoven-Saal Stuttgart, Brahms-Saal Karlsruhe, Grosser Sendesaal des HR Frankfurt, Carnegie Hall New York, Tanglewood Hall Boston, Harris Theatre Chicago, Great Hall of the Philharmonic St. Petersburg Russia, Teatro Massimo Bellini in Sicily, the Orchestra Sinfonica Siciliana at the Royal Festival Stockholm, the Great Hall of the People Beijing China, the Shanghai Grand Theatre and Shanghai Oriental Arts Center, the Seoul Arts Center Seoul, the Mumbai National Center for the Performing Arts India, the Bangalore Chowdiah Concert Hall in India and National Theatres Nicaragua and Honduras. Radio and TV stations such as ARD, ZDF, CBS, RAI, CCTV, Russia TV 1, Indian National TV have reported on him.
With the Phiharmonic Orchestra Leipzig, Michael Köhler has given guest performances in China, India and Korea, Italy, Sweden and the USA, Russia and Latin America. Regelmäßig dirigiert Michael Köhler als Gastdirigent verschiedene Orchester in Korea, das Sechuan Radio Philharmonic Orchestra (China), Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra (China) und das Sai Symphony Orchestra (Indien). In 2008 he accepted an invitation as Artistic Director of the Leipzig Symphony Orchestra. In 2009, he served as Conductor of the Euro-Asian Music Festival and President of the Korean Mozart Orchestra. In early 2010, he was appointed Principal Conductor of the Festival Internazionale della Cultura in Bergamo/Italy. In 2011 he was appointed Professor of Orchestral Conducting in Seoul (SMU). Invitations and guest appearances have repeatedly taken him to renowned orchestras and opera houses in the USA (Chicago), China (Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Huangzhou, Chengdu), Hong-Kong, Korea (Seoul, Gwangju), Brazil, Latin America, Russia, Austria, France, Italy, the Czech Republic (Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra) and Poland (Wroclaw Philharmonic).

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