Franz Schottky
Conductor
biography
Franz Schottky is Chief Conductor and Artistic Director of the Munich Kammerphilharmonie dacapo, which he founded in 2000. The orchestra has established a substantial regular audience of over 1,000 attendees per concert through its own subscription series at the Herkulessaal in the Munich Residenz, thereby securing a firm place in the rich musical life of Bavaria's state capital. It has also developed into a soughtafter guest ensemble beyond regional borders, performing at the International Music Festival in Český Krumlov and at the Wiener Musikverein. For Austria’s largest label Gramola, Schottky has recorded two CDs with his orchestra, featuring violinist Thomas Albertus Irnberger: the first recording, featuring works by Haydn, was nominated for the German Record Critics' Award in 2024, while the second recording, featuring works by Chausson, is set to be released at the end of 2026.
Franz Schottky is regularly invited by renowned orchestras worldwide; he has guestconducted the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestra dell'Arena di Verona, the Orchestra Sinfonica di Sanremo, the Orchestra Sinfonica Siciliana, the Filarmonica Gioachino Rossini, the Orchestra Sinfonica Metropolitana di Bari, the Moravian Philharmonic Orchestra Olomouc, the Capella Cracoviensis, the Filarmonica Oltenia Craiova, the Kazakh State Chamber Orchestra "Academy of Soloists," and the Orquesta Sinfónica del Estado de México OSEM. He has conducted at various prestigious venues including the Wiener Musikverein, the Smetana Hall in Prague, the Henry Crown Hall in Jerusalem, and the Munich Gasteig.
For many years, Schottky has devoted himself intensely to the symphonic works of Anton Bruckner. He has conducted several international premieres in cities like Astana, Kharkiv, and Chișinău. In Munich, he has already performed the 3rd and 4th symphonies with his orchestra; in 2024, he made his debut with the Orquesta Juvenil Universitaria Eduardo Mata of UNAM in Mexico City conducting the 6th Symphony. Additionally, he has a special interest in the rich repertoire of symphonic Romanticism, which he promotes through the ongoing rehearsal and performance of rarely played works.
Numerous internationally sought-after soloists such as Michael Korstick, Anna Tifu and Natalia Gutman appreciate Franz Schottky as a particularly flexible and sensitive collaborator. This is also related to his unique conducting technique that he learned from his teacher, Sergiu Celibidache. At the age of 20, he joined the class of the then Munich General Music Director in 1991 and was one of his last and closest students until Celibidache's death in 1996. Under him, Schottky also learned the foundations of his music philosophy, known as his Musical Phenomenology. Schottky shares this knowledge as a guest lecturer, most recently at Shanghai University and the Prague Conservatory.
In 2014, Schottky was first appointed to the jury of the Verona International Piano Competition, which he has continued to be part of since then. He made his US debut in 2019 in Alexandria, Louisiana, conducting Johannes Brahms's 2nd Symphony. In 2024, he returned to the podium of the Orchestra dell'Arena di Verona with a Brahms program. In 2026, he debuted with the Hanoi Philharmonic Orchestra in Vietnam conducting Tchaikovsky's 4th Symphony, held a masterclass for conductors at the Vietnam National Academy of Music, and will be a jury member for the International Conducting Competition in Târgu Mureș.
Franz Schottky is regularly invited by renowned orchestras worldwide; he has guestconducted the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestra dell'Arena di Verona, the Orchestra Sinfonica di Sanremo, the Orchestra Sinfonica Siciliana, the Filarmonica Gioachino Rossini, the Orchestra Sinfonica Metropolitana di Bari, the Moravian Philharmonic Orchestra Olomouc, the Capella Cracoviensis, the Filarmonica Oltenia Craiova, the Kazakh State Chamber Orchestra "Academy of Soloists," and the Orquesta Sinfónica del Estado de México OSEM. He has conducted at various prestigious venues including the Wiener Musikverein, the Smetana Hall in Prague, the Henry Crown Hall in Jerusalem, and the Munich Gasteig.
For many years, Schottky has devoted himself intensely to the symphonic works of Anton Bruckner. He has conducted several international premieres in cities like Astana, Kharkiv, and Chișinău. In Munich, he has already performed the 3rd and 4th symphonies with his orchestra; in 2024, he made his debut with the Orquesta Juvenil Universitaria Eduardo Mata of UNAM in Mexico City conducting the 6th Symphony. Additionally, he has a special interest in the rich repertoire of symphonic Romanticism, which he promotes through the ongoing rehearsal and performance of rarely played works.
Numerous internationally sought-after soloists such as Michael Korstick, Anna Tifu and Natalia Gutman appreciate Franz Schottky as a particularly flexible and sensitive collaborator. This is also related to his unique conducting technique that he learned from his teacher, Sergiu Celibidache. At the age of 20, he joined the class of the then Munich General Music Director in 1991 and was one of his last and closest students until Celibidache's death in 1996. Under him, Schottky also learned the foundations of his music philosophy, known as his Musical Phenomenology. Schottky shares this knowledge as a guest lecturer, most recently at Shanghai University and the Prague Conservatory.
In 2014, Schottky was first appointed to the jury of the Verona International Piano Competition, which he has continued to be part of since then. He made his US debut in 2019 in Alexandria, Louisiana, conducting Johannes Brahms's 2nd Symphony. In 2024, he returned to the podium of the Orchestra dell'Arena di Verona with a Brahms program. In 2026, he debuted with the Hanoi Philharmonic Orchestra in Vietnam conducting Tchaikovsky's 4th Symphony, held a masterclass for conductors at the Vietnam National Academy of Music, and will be a jury member for the International Conducting Competition in Târgu Mureș.
schedule
press
"Stunning joyfulness and deep devotion to the compositions make Franz Schottky be one of the great conductors of our time. In his conducting Franz Schottky showed us the true art of making music and stimulated his musicians to the maximum."
Passauer Neue Presse
"This Schumann interpretation is gorgeous!"
Süddeutsche Zeitung
"Celibidache would have liked it!"
Münchner Merkur
"This concert bestowed magic moments on the audience."
Il Quotidiano del Sud (Reggio Calabria)
"Schottky - who conducted Shostakovich's 1st symphony by heart - immersed himself highly accurately and at the same time in a relaxed manner in the polymorphic score. All sections of the Orchestra dell'Arena di Verona corresponded very very well to Schottky's fresh style. Intense applause in the end, and Schottky was called back to the stage again and again."
l‘Arena (Verona)
"Thank you for this hour of musical glory!"
The New Listener (München)
"Having completely assimilated the spirit of these compositions, Schottky achieved a completely clear and incisive performance of these pieces."
La Gazzetta del Mezzogiorno (Bari)
videos
references
"Maestro Franz Schottky is an outstanding musician and excellent accompanist. Our concerts with his Münchner Kammerphilharmonie dacapo have always been a very enjoyable experience. I wish him and his orchestra all the very best for a long and successful career."
Natalia Gutman - Cellist
"One cannot imagine Munich's musical life without Franz Schottky, a star student of Sergiu Celibidache and a tireless fighter for the cause of music. I had the great pleasure to work with him a number of times, and I really admire and esteem his serious and immensely musical approach: not only the notes in a score, but even the spaces between the notes are transformed into music. I wish him every success on what surely is a truly remarkable artistic journey!"
Moritz Eggert - Composer
"I have rarely seen conductors who lead their orchestra with such a precise and at the same time unobstrusive beating technique. No gestures of vanity whatsoever, nothing superfluous at all, though everything is imbued by descreet elegance. His body language always knows how to communicate tension, poetry, rhythm, crescendos and decrescendos - as if there existed no easier job. Franz Schottky is a natural talent you will only extremely rarely find even amongst the famous travellers of the world. Such abilities you can't learn - they are innate."
Franz Hummel - Composer
"I had an opportunity to work with Franz at a masterclass at the Prague Conservatory. Based on that experience I must say that conductor Franz Schottky is an autstanding musician and artist with remarkable conducting technique. His concerts are an extraordinary experience. Especially notable is brass instruments harmony. I feel his professional future is bright. Franz would bring a wealth of knowledge and skills to any orchestra."
Karel Dolezal - Professor of the Prague Conservatory
"With the greatest pleasure I made music together with the conductor Franz Schottky on the stage of the Hercules Hall. It was so much fun to rediscover Haydn's D major cello concerto in such an exiting artistic and at the same time in such a pleasant human atmosphere!"
Jiří Bárta - Cellist
"I had the distinct pleasure of working together with Maestro Franz Schottky and his chamber orchestra Münchner Kammerphilharmonie dacapo. Maestro Schottky is a very professional artist of great musical format. For this partnership, I would like to sincerely thank and to congratulate him: not only for his conducting abilities but also for his outstanding work with his orchestra Münchner Kammerphilharmonie dacapo which he has founded and now leads with such a competence and wisdom which only very few conductors can do."
Pasquale Iannone - Pianist
"I sincerely welcome the opportunity to write a letter of appreciation for Maestro Franz Schottky, who took part in the International Festival of Classical Music "Mariinskie Assamblei" in Kursk ( Russia) as a guest conductor. Throughout the whole project Mr. Schottky demonstrated the highest professionalism, unique understanding of musical performance and ability to quickly immerse himself into a new team. Maestro Schottky delivered perfect conducting of high international level at all times; his presence was a vital component to the success of the above mentioned event."
Sergey Proskurin - trumpet virtuoso, chief conductor of the Kursk Chamber Orchestra
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