Warsaw Philharmonic Hires New Artistic Director

Krzysztof Urbański will assume the role on a five-year contract as of the 2024/25 season

The Warsaw Philharmonic has welcomed Polish conductor Krzysztof Urbański to the position of artistic director — he will succeed Andrzej Boreyko, who started the role in 2019.

At 41 years old, Urbański will become the Philharmonic’s youngest conductor in its post-war history. He will further share the plans for his first season in Warsaw at the end of this January. 

In tandem with this role, he will begin his tenure as chief conductor of the Bern Symphony Orchestra in the 2024/25 season.

A graduate of the Music Academy in Warsaw in 2007, Urbański first served for two years as assistant conductor with the Warsaw Philharmonic. He has since served as principal guest conductor of the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra and of the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra. 

From 2011 to 2021, he was music director of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, and until 2017, was chief conductor and artistic director of the Trondheim Symphony Orchestra, where he is now guest conductor of honor. In 2022, he was appointed principal guest conductor of the Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana. 

This season, Urbański will conduct the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Munich Philharmonic, and the Vienna Philharmonic.

“Urbański is exactly what we wanted: a successful artist of the young generation who, thanks to his clear vision of music, extraordinary skills and engaging programming [...] can open us to a new audience,” stated the Warsaw Philharmonic’s managers, according to Rzeczpospolita News.