Tyrolean Symphony Orchestra Innsbruck Appoints New Chief Conductor

The young Latvian conductor Ainārs Rubiķis will depart Komischer Oper Berlin for Innsbruck

Latvian conductor Ainārs Rubiķis has been named as the new Chief Conductor of the Tyrolean Symphony Orchestra Innsbruck (TSOI), and he will begin his time in the position at the opening of the 2025/26 season.

Rubiķis is no stranger to the TSOI, having appeared there as guest conductor on several occasions. Most recently, he led a program of works by Debussy, Strauss, and Tchaikovsky with the orchestra in February of 2024. 

Originally a pianist and violinist, Rubiķis won the Gustav Mahler Conducting Competition in 2010 and the Nestlé and Salzburg Festival Young Conductors Award in 2011. He comes to the TSOI from a position as General Music Director at Komische Oper Berlin.

As a guest conductor, he has appeared with the Stuttgart State Orchestra, the Hamburg Symphony Orchestra, the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg, the St. Petersburg Philharmonic, the Moscow State Symphony, the BBC Scottish Symphony, the Toronto Symphony, and the National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra, among others.

"It has been a pleasure for me to work with this great orchestra over the past few years," Rubiķis said. "The dedication and skill of the musicians impresses me greatly and it is an honor for me to continue working with such talented people and in such a beautiful city."

"The appointment was preceded by a long process with many discussions and artistic encounters," said Irene Girkinger, the orchestra's Artistic Director. "It was very important to me to choose the line-up in agreement with the orchestra and to respond to the wishes of the musicians. It is all the more wonderful that the intensive search and patience have paid off and that we have been able to win Ainārs Rubiķis, a top-class conductor with high artistic competence and great charisma, for the TSOI."