Elena Schwarz
© Mathias Bothor
Total command
Conductor
Conductor in Residence, Klangforum Wien
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‘Schwarz’s command was total’
The Times
‘Not only does she have a superb technical command of her job but she makes her music both relaxed and rewarding, and musicians and listeners like that’
The Arts Desk
‘Elena Schwarz led the fantastic Residentie Orchestra with a masterly hand through the myriad colours and atmospheres’
Trouw, Saariho's Innocence
Widely admired for her incisive knowledge of scores, Elena Schwarz brings a textural clarity and luminosity of sound to music from all eras, inspiring confidence and drawing the best from musicians whether conducting symphony orchestras, contemporary ensembles or opera productions.
Her guest engagements in 2024–25 include her debut with Vienna Symphony, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo, Barcelona Symphony and Bilbao Orkestra Sinfonikoa, as well as return engagements to BBC Philharmonic, WDR Sinfonieorchester, San Diego Symphony, Adelaide Symphony, Bremen Philharmoniker and Orchestre Philharmonique de Liège.
Appointed Resident Conductor of Klangforum Wien from 2024, she is an enthusiastic advocate of new music, working with specialist contemporary ensembles such as MusikFabrik, Ensemble Intercontemporain and Ensemble Modern.
Following an impressive operatic debut at Festival d’Aix-en-Provence in 2019, conducting Adam Maor’s The Sleeping Thousand, Schwarz’s performances of Saariaho’s Innocence at Dutch National Opera last season drew five-star reviews and an immediate re-invitation. She has also conducted Katya Kabanova at Opéra de Lyon, Hansel & Gretel at Norwegian Opera, Rusalka at Opéra de Nice and Dora at Staatsoper Stuttgart.
‘I start from the point of view that everyone wants to do a beautiful job, feels strongly about the music, and has a sense of responsibility to the composer and the audience, like I do. This is our job, together’
