Dirk Kaftan
Meet our General Music Director
Dirk Kaftan is searching – for new musical shores, for a modern Beethoven … and closeness to the audience.
Dirk Kaftan has been General Music Director of the Beethoven Orchestra Bonn and the Bonn Opera since summer 2017. In the 2023 / 2024 season, he will conduct Arnold Schönberg’s opera Moses und Aron and Die Liebe zu den Drei Orangen by Sergei Prokofieff, in addition to numerous concerts. In the concert field, he continues successful series that brought him together with artists such as Matthias Brandt, Rafik Schami, Julia Fischer, Sunnyi Melles, Auma Obama, Selina Ott, Daniel Müller-Schott, Alexandre Tharaud and Wladimir Kaminer, and looks forward to guests such as Holly Hyun Choe, Karsu, Eímear Noone, Olga Pashchenko, Lise de la Salle, Esther Schweins, Götz Alsmann, Gábor Boldoczki and Sergei Nakariakov.
Dirk Kaftan’s repertoire is broad and ranges from stormily celebrated Beethoven symphonies to Nonos Intolleranza 1960, from the Lustigen Witwe to intercultural projects. For the Beethoven anniversary year, he was the initiator and driving force behind a whole series of projects such as the Beethoven-Lounges, Hofkapelle and Beethoven Moves! that dealt with the great son of Bonn. During the Corona pandemic, he developed new concert formats such as Beethoven Pur, in which Ludwig van Beethoven’s symphonies could be performed in a chamber music setting.
Dirk Kaftan is a welcome guest at major theatres, most recently with the Royal Danish Orchestra, the Bruckner Orchestra Linz, the Ensemble Modern and with a highly acclaimed Tristan at the Hanover State Opera. He has staged productions at the Volksoper in Vienna and the Royal Opera in Copenhagen, and conducted series of performances in Berlin and Dresden. In 2016 he conducted Miroslav Srnka’s Make No Noise at the Bregenz Festival. For all the joy of guest conducting, Dirk Kaftan’s focus is on working with his own orchestra, in ensemble care but also in his engagement with the choir and orchestra. This professional view, which grew out of the Kapellmeister tradition, has accompanied him since his first positions, including his work as General Music Director in Augsburg and Graz. His work is appreciated by audiences and critics alike, and highly acclaimed CDs are available: Most recently, 2019 saw the release of Beethoven’s Egmont, the first production with the Beethoven Orchestra Bonn, which was enthusiastically received by critics and awarded the OPUS KLASSIK in 2020. Before that, Der ferne Klang, Jenufa and Die griechische Passion were produced in Graz and Augsburg.
»Approaching people«, »joining forces«: this is important to the Bonn General Music Director, and it is reflected in his work. Whether in dealing with musicians or in contact with the audience: Dirk Kaftan wants music to be perceived as an essential part of life: It is an invitation to think and do something with it.
Dirk Kaftan is a welcome guest at the world’s renowned concert halls, with recent highlights that include performances with the Royal Danish Orchestra, the Bruckner Orchestra Linz, the Ensemble Modern and a much-acclaimed rendition of “Tristan” at the Hannover State Opera House. He has been responsible for productions at the Vienna Volksoper and the Royal Danish Opera House in Copenhagen, and has also conducted a series of performances in Berlin and Dresden. In 2016, he conducted Miroslav Srnka’s “Make No Noise” and in 2021 the opera „Nero“ by Arrigo Boito at the Bregenz Festival.
While rejoicing in his various guest appearances, Dirk Kaftan’s work on his own stage always remains the focus of his commitments. The dedication to his own ensemble, orchestra and choir is a trait that musicians and colleagues alike appreciate in him. This work ethic, borne of the Kapellmeister tradition has accompanied him since his very first appointments, but also in his previous posts as General Music Director in Augsburg and Graz. His work is highly cherished by audiences and critics alike, and his most recent recording of Beethoven’s “Egmont” in 2019, his first with the Beethoven Orchestra Bonn, received rave reviews and was awarded the OPUS KLASSIK in 2020. His earlier productions in Graz and Augsburg included, among others, “Der ferne Klang” (The Distant Sound), “Jenufa” and “The Greek Passion”.
We are in the middle of it. In Beethoven. In Bonn. We tell exciting stories with and without words. To look at the past together, explain it anew and then take the good with us into the change that every era brings.
Dirk Kaftan
At the beginning of 2021, the Beethoven Orchestra Bonn under Dirk Kaftan was appointed as a “United Nations Climate Change Goodwill Ambassador” by the UN Climate Change Secretariat (UNFCCC). During the summer of the same year, Dirk Kaftan and his Beethoven Orchestra Bonn were awarded the European Culture Prize.
His credos of “approaching people” and “joining forces” are reflected in the work of the Bonn General Music Director, be it in his interactions with musicians or the audience. In the eyes of Dirk Kaftan, music is an essential part of life; it is an invitation to think and get involved.