Having already conducted the season’s first opera production to great acclaim as the new General Music Director in Braunschweig, Friedrich Praetorius is set to conduct his inaugural concerts with the Staatsorchester Braunschweig on 20 and 21 September. The new season gets off to a ‘fierce yet pithy’ start with Mahler’s 6th Symphony: This is the title of the symphony’s first movement, whose last movement ends with three hammer blows.
Friedrich Praetorius already took the helm of a highly successful new opera production from 22 August: Der Freischütz was staged as an open-air performance on Burgplatz to mark the start of the season, with a new production by Philipp Moschitz. A total of 18 performances of the opera were scheduled up to 9 September.
Following a unanimous decision by the selection committee, Friedrich Praetorius has been General Music Director at the Staatstheater Braunschweig since the start of the current 2026/27 season.
“Friedrich Praetorius is an excellent choice for the Staatstheater Braunschweig,” says Falko Mohrs, Lower Saxony’s Minister for Science and Culture. “He combines artistic excellence, youthful vigour, great musical energy and a remarkable development as a conductor. I am delighted with the committee’s clear decision and am convinced that he will bring important new impetus to musical theatre and the Braunschweig State Orchestra.”
Tobias Wolff, the designated General Director of the Staatstheater Braunschweig, is also delighted with the unanimous vote in favour of Friedrich Praetorius. “He is a musicaly gifted conductor with a wide range of expression, a keen sense of subtle timbres, great musical clarity, excellent communication skills and a palpable enthusiasm for the theatre. I am convinced that he is an excellent fit for the Staatstheater Braunschweig, the State Orchestra and the artistic development of our institution. I am very much looking forward to working with him.”
Friedrich Praetorius explains: “I am delighted by the trust placed in me and the prospect of becoming General Music Director of the Staatstheater Braunschweig. Over the past few months, this theatre, its orchestra, its ensemble and the whole city have welcomed me with great openness, curiosity and artistic energy. I am therefore all the more eager to shape the coming seasons together with the musicians of the State Orchestra and all sections of the theatre, to provide fresh impetus and, at the same time, to continue Braunschweig’s great musical tradition.”
