Mario Venzago
"Under the attentive, even loving direction of star guest conductor Mario Venzago, the orchestra plays with striking clarity, alertness, vitality, and wonderful opulence."Conducting has been Mario Venzago's greatest passion since early childhood. Imagination, curiosity, and a willingness to take artistic risks define his distinctive musical personality and have shaped an international career encompassing symphonic concerts, opera productions, award-winning recordings, and, increasingly, performances of his own compositions.
From 2010 to 2021, Mario Venzago served as Principal Conductor and Artistic Director of the Bern Symphony Orchestra. Previously, he held positions as Principal Conductor or General Music Director of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, the Basque National Orchestra in San Sebastián, the Basel Symphony Orchestra, Graz Opera and Graz Philharmonic Orchestra, the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Frankfurt (now Bremen), the Theatre and Philharmonic Orchestra of Heidelberg, and the Musikkollegium Winterthur.
He was Principal Conductor of the Royal Northern Sinfonia (2010-2014), Artist in Association with the Tapiola Sinfonietta (2010-2019), and Artistic Director of the Baltimore Summer Fest (2000-2003), succeeding Pinchas Zukerman and David Zinman.
Highlights of the 2025/26 season include return engagements with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, the Bern Symphony Orchestra, the Philharmonic Orchestra Heidelberg, the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra in Tokyo, the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, and the NFM Wrocław Philharmonic.
Mario Venzago has appeared with many of the world's leading orchestras, including the Berlin Philharmonic, the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, the Filarmonica della Scala, and the NHK Symphony Orchestra. He is also a frequent guest with orchestras such as the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra, the Konzerthausorchester Berlin, and the Frankfurter Museumsorchester.
He has collaborated with many of the world's foremost soloists and worked in opera with directors including Ruth Berghaus, Peter Konwitschny, and Hans Neuenfels.
His extensive discography has received numerous international distinctions, including the Grand Prix du Disque, the Diapason d'Or de l'Année, and the Edison Award. His recordings of the operas Venus and Penthesilea, together with the complete choral works of Othmar Schoeck, have earned exceptional critical acclaim and prestigious awards. The documentary film My Brother the Conductor, directed by Alberto Venzago, was released in cinemas across Europe before appearing on DVD.
His ambitious recording project The Other Bruckner, featuring all ten Bruckner symphonies, was released by cpo to widespread international critical acclaim. His collaboration with Sony Classical resulted in the remarkable recording of Franz Schubert's Finished Unfinished Symphony, completed and conducted by Mario Venzago with the Kammerorchester Basel, as well as recordings of all serenades and symphonies by Johannes Brahms.
Further recording projects include Othmar Schoeck's opera Schloss Dürande in a new version with the Bern Symphony Orchestra and the cantata Vom Fischer un syner Fru with the Musikkollegium Winterthur (both released by Claves). More recently, Prospero released a recording of Schubert's reconstructed Symphony No. 7 with the Bern Symphony Orchestra (2022), while Chandos Records issued Bernard Herrmann's Wuthering Heights Suite with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra. Pentatone/Naxos released Niccolò Paganini's Violin Concerto No. 1 featuring 15-year-old violinist Chloe Chua and the Singapore Symphony Orchestra.
Alongside his conducting career, Mario Venzago has increasingly devoted himself to composition. In 2021 he premiered his Violin Concerto with Soyoung Yoon and the Bern Symphony Orchestra. In 2026 his Piano Concerto will receive its world premiere with Claire Huangci and the Philharmonic Orchestra Heidelberg. His three orchestral works will also receive multiple performances during the season. Several additional compositions, including two operas, are currently being prepared for publication by Universal Edition.
Mario Venzago, photo: Adrian Moser
