German born conductor Johannes Fritzsch has been announced as Principal Guest Conductor with the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra for three years, starting in 2018. This is the first such appointment in the history of the orchestra. This appointment cements a long association with the orchestra that began in 2001 and over the years has encompassed his involvement in some of the orchestra’s other activities including his role as Director of TSO’s National Conducting Academy, a role which is very dear to him.

“Johannes has built a rapport with the orchestra and its audience over many years,” said the TSO’s Managing Director Nicholas Heyward, “and we were thrilled when he moved to Hobart. As Principal Guest Conductor he’ll be even more closely connected. His particular interest in training young conductors and his role as Director of the TSO’s National Conducting Academy will further strengthen this connection.”

^{The Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra’s incoming Principal Guest Conductor Johannes Fritzsch}

Born in Meissen, in what was then the German Democratic Republic, Fritzsch was appointed Kapellmeister with the Staatsoper Dresden in 1987 before the fall of the Berlin Wall meant he was able to accept engagements outside Eastern Europe.

His professoinal connection with Australia dates back to 1992 when he was guest conductor for Opera Australia. He has since conducted all of the major Australian orchestras and from 2008 to 2014 he was the Chief Conductor of the Queensland Symphony Orchestra, with which he now holds the position of Conductor Laureate.

From 2006 to 2013 he was also Chief Conductor of the Graz Opera, a position he gave up in 2013 citing personal reasons. In an interview with Austrian publication Die Presse that year he said: “After many years of doing the splits between two continents, professionally and personally speaking, I have decided to transfer the centre point of my life to where my family is.”

Fritzsch married Australian violinist Dr Susan Collins in 1999 and the family moved to Hobart in 2014 when his wife took up the role of Coordinator of Strings and Orchestral Music at the Conservatorium of Music, University of Tasmania.

“I have always enjoyed working with the TSO,” Fritzsch said. “Together we have nurtured a relationship based on mutual respect and open mindedness, and I look forward to deepening this relationship further and bringing great music to Tasmanian audiences.”