June 29th, 2019 - Opening concert: Disney in Concert "FANTASIA"

Elisabeth Fuchs, the most celebrated female conductor from Austria, is described by the press as „passionate, powerful, moving and overwhelming!“
She is the Chief conductor of the Salzburg Philharmonic Orchestra, performing regularly in acclaimed concert halls like Grosses Festspielhaus Salzburg, Felsenreitschule Salzburg, Grosser Saal Mozarteum, Musikverein in Vienna, Konzerthaus in Vienna, Brucknerhaus Linz. Her repertoire has a wide variety from Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Mendelssohn, Schumann, Brahms, Bruckner, Mahler, Tschaikowsky, Rachmaninow, Schostakowitsch, Ravel and including modern composers such as John Adams, Kurt Schwertsik or Arvo Pärt.
Highlights of the season 2019/20 include Orffs Carmina Burana, Mahlers 1st and 5th Symphony, Elgars Enigma-Variations, Bruckners 4th, Schuberts C-major Symphony, Dvoraks 8th, Brahms 2nd, Mozarts last Symphonies and Berlioz´ Symphonie fantastique, In autumn 2018, principal conductor Fuchs toured with the Salzburg Philharmonic Orchestra throughout China, performing Beethovens Pastorale as the main symphonic piece.

Since 2012 Elisabeth Fuchs has worked regularly with the Stuttgart Philharmonic Orchestra, and has conducted for the Zagreb Philharmonic Orchesta at Lisinsky Hall since 2014. In 2013 principal conductor Fuchs debuted with the Helsingbourg Symphony Orchestra and in 2014 she debuted with the Brussels Philharmonic Orchestra. After very successful performances, she has been invited repeatedly by both orchestras to lead future projects. 2018 she debuted with Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra, WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne, and Symphony Orchestra Munich. For Sony Music she recorded together with the Radio Orchestra Munichand Quadro Nuevo the CD "Volkslied reloaded".

At the State Opera Prague Elisabeth Fuchs had her debut with the Magic Flute. At the Salzburg Festival she conducted Schostakowitschs Das neue Babylon and the Mozart-operas Bastien & Bastienne and Der Schauspieldirektor, which was recorded on DVD by Deutsche Grammophon. In 2017 she had her debut in Israel at the Beer Sheva Sinfonietta. In addition to that she conducted the Hamburg Symphonic Orchestra, Brucknerorchestra Linz, Tonkünstlerorchestra Niederösterreich, NDR Radio Philharmonie Hannover, Mozarteumorchestra Salzburg, Württembergische Philharmonie Reutlingen, Symphony Orchestra Wuppertal, Symphony Orchestra Erfurt, Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie Herford and the Philharmonic Orchestra Dortmund. 

Elisabeth Fuchs loves to concept new concertprojects to cross musical borders. Therefor she has been working together with Quadro Nuevo, Stjepan Hauser (2 Cellos), David Orlofsky Trio, Klazz Brothers, Henry Threadgill, Dance & Acrobatic Urbanatix Bochum, DJs Troy Savoy & Harvey Miller, Pacho Flores, Andreas Martin Hofmeir, Benjamin Schmid, Sergej Malov, Per Arne Glorvigen, Nikolai Tokarev, Rolando Villazón, Iris Berben, Maria Bill, Cornelius Obonya, Philipp Hochmair. Another very important part to Elisabeth Fuchs’ working life is her commitment to the educational component of the classical music scene. In order to connect children and youth to classical music, Elisabeth Fuchs founded the Kinderfestspiele, the „Teenie concerts“ and the „Concerts for apprentices“. In addition to that she started in autumn 2018 lectoring a student class at the Paris-Lodron University of Salzburg. 
Beyond Elisabeth Fuchs’ own artistic endeavors, from 2009 till 2018 she took charge of the artistic direction for the Salzburger Kulturvereinigung a prestigious cultural association in Salzburg. Elisabeth Fuchs studied Orchestra conducting, Choir conducting, Oboe, Music education and Mathematics at the University Mozarteum in Salzburg, the Paris Lodron University in Salzburg and the Music Academy of Cologne. She was strongly influenced by Balduin Sulzer, Franz Welser-Möst, Herbert Böck, Karl Kamper und Dennis Russell Davies. She lives together with her to kids in Salzburg, Austria.

The Philharmonie Salzburg orchestra was founded in 1998 by conductor Elisabeth Fuchs and has played in the hearts of its listeners since the very beginning. That music moves people is clear to the orchestra, and they succeed in this with an unusually innovative programme and the infectious joy of the musicians as they perform.

The Salzburg Orchestra is diverse: the Philharmonie Salzburg plays with top soloists such as Juan Diego Florez, Rolando Villazon, Olga Scheps, Nikolai Tokarev, Ferhan & Ferzan Önder, Pacho Flores, Andreas Martin Hofmeir and Benjamin Schmid, but it also grooves into the jazz and world music genres with the ECHO prize winning Quadro Nuevo, Per Arne Glorvigen, Henry Threadgill, Reena Winters, Maria Bill and the Klazz Brothers and plays literary concert nights alongside big names in theatre, such as Iris Berben, Cornelius Obonya and Philipp Hochmair.

The Philharmonie Salzburg orchestra plays over 100 orchestral concerts yearly and is regularly hosted in Salzburg's concert halls - the Großes Festspielhaus Salzburg, the Salzburg Felsenreitschule , the Great Hall of the Mozarteum and the Great Hall of the university - with a broad  ranging repertoire (Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Mendelssohn, Schumann, Brahms, Bruckner, Mahler, Dvorak, Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov, Shostakovich, Ravel all the way to Igor Stravinsky, Benjamin Britten, Arvo Pärt, Kurt Schwertsik and John Adams). The orchestra has been hosted many times at the Salzburg Festival (Salzburger Festspiele), at the Musica Riva Festival, at the Vienna Musikverein, Vienna Konzerthaus, Brucknerhaus Linz, Congress Center Villach, Kurhaus Wiesbaden and at the Tonhalle in Düsseldorf, as well as in the major cities of China.

In addition to classical and romantic concert evenings, the orchestra has made it its mission to place a strong emphasis on the area of orchestra development. For this reason the orchestra, in cooperation with the Kinderfestspiele, offers many children, young people and families an introduction to the world of classical music through interactive symphonic concerts and workshops.
The orchestra was also the initiator of the student concerts at the Großes Festspielhaus, which currently inspire 4000 young people each year and are also hosted in Linz, Graz and Künzelsau.

On top of that, the orchestra inspires with crossover projects such as 

“Best of Hollywood“, “Broadway meets Hip Hop“, “The Next Level – Concert with DJs and acrobats”, “Game Music meets Poetry Slam” or “Soul meets Classic“.

The cheering in the concert hall is testament to the success of the concept!