Bavaria’s Hofer Symphoniker Hires Chief Conductor

Belgian conductor Martijn Dendievel will assume the role, which has remained vacant for over 20 years

For the first time since 2001, Germany’s Hofer Symphoniker in Bavaria has appointed a chief conductor. Martijn Dendievel, 27, will begin his tenure as of the 2024/25 season for four years.

The Hofer Symphoniker has hosted various guest conductors over the last decades, including Dendievel. His appointment as chief conductor was initiated by the orchestra musicians alongside the board of directors.

In the role, Dendievel will be involved with concert programming, including combining core repertoire with new discoveries and lesser-known works, as well as with the orchestra’s educational initiatives.

The winner of the German Conductor’s Prize in 2021, Dendievel’s concert engagements have included the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, WDR Sinfonieorchester, Staatskapelle Weimar, Antwerp Symphony Orchestra, Rotterdam Philharmonic, and Nuremberg Symphony Orchestra. 

In July 2022 he completed his studies in orchestral conducting with Nicolás Pasquet and Ekhart Wycik at the Hochschule für Musik Franz Liszt. His other mentors included Kristof Van Grysperre, Bernard Haitink, Paavo Järvi, Christian Thielemann, Iván Fischer, and Simone Young.

Dendievel will perform his first concerts as Hofer Symphoniker’s designated chief conductor on July 23, 2023, at an open-air concert. Next season, he will serve as guest conductor in a concert with the Israeli violinist Vadim Gluzman, which will be recorded by Deutschlandfunk Kultur.

“[Martijn] has consistently demonstrated complete stylistic and conducting sovereignty,” said artistic director Cora Bethke. “Both artistically and personally, I am looking forward to the intense collaboration with Martijn Dendievel, and I know that the Hofer Symphoniker are in excellent hands with him.”

“It is a great fortune to work with musicians whose daily lives are characterized by great diversity — whether on the concert stage, in the opera, where a special sensitivity for tempo and dynamic changes is required that allows me greater artistic freedom, or when teaching,” Dendievel said. 

“These different skills create a unique ensemble, which I feel honored to be able to lead from the 2024/25 season,” he added. “I also can’t wait to, in addition to conducting the symphony concerts, get involved in music education for young and old in cooperation with the Hofer Symphoniker’s very own music school. I am truly grateful to the management and the orchestra for the trust they have placed in me at the start of my career.”