Initial musical training as a member of the Regensburger Domspatzen
Studies in conducting with Hans Swarowsky, István Kertész, Bruno Maderna, and Herbert von Karajan
Musical Director in Solingen and Krefeld-Mönchengladbach, Principal Conductor of the Austrian Radio Symphony Orchestra in Vienna, Directeur musicale of the Grand Opéra de Paris, Chief Guest Conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra in London
1990-1992: Musical Director of the Oper Leipzig
1995-2014: First Guest Conductor and Artistic Advisor of the Junge Deutsche Philharmonie
1997-2006: Musical Director der Württembergischer Staatsoper Stuttgart
2006-2011: Principal Conductor of the Konzerthausorchester
Guest appearances at leading houses, among them the State Operas in Vienna and Hamburg, the Bayrische Staatsoper in Munich, the Deutsche Oper in Berlin, the Semperoper in Dresden, the Théâtre de La Monnaie in Brussels, the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, the Glyndebourne Festival
Guest Conductor at the Teatro La Fenice in Venice, the Oper Frankfurt, the Deutsche Oper Berlin, the Korean National Opera, the Staatsoper Hamburg
Appearances as a guest conductor with renowned orchestras in Germany and abroad, among others the Berlin and Munich Philharmonics, the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, the Bamberger Symphoniker, all of the major German radio symphony orchestras, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Wiener Symphoniker, the Orchestra dell' Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, the Orchestre National de France, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, and the NHK Symphony Orchestra in Tokyo, as well as the Berlin and Vienna Festwochen, the London Proms, the Munich Opera Festival, and the Salzburg Festival
Special commitment to contemporary music
Wide-ranging discography, for example recordings of “degenerate music,” including works by Ernst Křenek, Viktor Ullmann, Hanns Eisler, Berthold Goldschmidt, Walter Braunfels, Hans Krása, “Danton’s Death” by Gottfried von Einem, “Saint Francois” by Olivier Messiaen, and works by Paul Hindemith for choir and orchestra, as well as CDs featuring works by Beethoven, Schubert, Bruckner, and Webern
Numerous awards for recordings, among them major prizes such as the “Grand Prix du Disque,” the “Cannes Classical Award” and the “Deutscher Schallplattenpreis,” as well as a “Grammy” nomination
"Conductor of the Year” (1997, 1999, 2013), Hessischer Kulturpreis (2006), Critic’s Prize in 2009 had in the field of music from the Association of German Critics
Sponsor of the Offensive Kulturelle Bildung in Berlin, Honorary Chairman of the jury of the Hochschulwettbewerbs Dirigieren (university contest in conducting) 2008, Chairman of the Advisory Board of the Conducting Forum of the Deutscher Musikrat (German Music Council)
Member of the University Council of the Hanns Eisler School of Music Berlin