Simon Gaudenz has served as General Music Director of the Jena Philharmonic since 2018, shaping the city’s musical life with fresh ideas and innovative projects. Together with his orchestra, he inspires audiences through imaginative formats and visionary concepts – among them the internationally acclaimed Mahler–Scartazzini Cycle, with which the ensemble tours regularly.

An internationally sought-after guest conductor, Simon Gaudenz is also a regular guest at major international Festivals. Close artistic partnership connect him with distinguished soloists such as Anne Sofie von Otter, Igor Levit, Michael Barenboim, Daniel Ottensamer, Veronika Eberle, Renaud Capuçon, Arabella Steinbacher, Benjamin Appl, Lise de la Salle, Lilya Zilberstein, Maximilian Hornung, and many others.

Contemporary music is a defining element of Simon Gaudenz’s artistic profile, and he regularly brings its rich diversity to the concert stage. This passion is reflected in numerous world premieres by composers such as Andrea Lorenzo Scartazzini, Moritz Eggert, Henrik Hellstenius, Marc Sinan, Enjott Schneider, Anders Koppel, and Bent Sørensen.

After first positions as Chief Conductor of the Collegium Musicum Basel and as founding member and Artistic Director of the camerata variabile basel, Simon Gaudenz was appointed Principal Guest Conductor of the Odense Symphony Orchestra in 2010. Two years later, he became Chief Conductor of the Hamburger Camerata, with which he presented numerous concerts at the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg.

His extensive discography includes, among others, the highly acclaimed complete recording of Schumann’s symphonies and the Opus Klassik 2020 award-winning album featuring symphonies by Haydn’s contemporary François-Joseph Gossec (for the cpo label). His recordings with the NDR Radiophilharmonie and the Jena Philharmonic – featuring works by Louis Spohr, Carl Loewe, Hugo Wolf, and Karl Weigl – have likewise received great critical and public acclaim. The most recent recordings of the worldwide unique Mahler–Scartazzini Cycle is regarded as an artistic milestone for its unique pairing of Mahler’s complete symphonies with new works by Swiss composer Andrea Lorenzo Scartazzini.

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