Contact
Kerstin Altka@karstenwitt.com+49 30 214 594-235
Heike Wilmshw@karstenwitt.com+49 30 214 594-236
General Management
Johannes Klumpp and the Heidelberger Sinfoniker are awarded the OPUS KLASSIK for their complete recording of all Haydn symphonies, completed in autumn 2024. Our congratulations!
Josef Suk, Der Frühling op. 22a
Johann Strauss (Sohn), Frühlingsstimmenwalzer
Johann Strauss (Sohn), Ouverture to "A Night in Venice"
Johann Strauss (Sohn), "Frutti di mare" from "A Night in Venice"
Johann Strauss (Sohn), Kiss-Waltz op. 400
Luigi Arditi, Il bacio
Bedrich Smetana, Ouverture to "The Kiss"
Bedrich Smetana, Aria from "The Kiss"
Antonín Dvořák, Prague Waltz
Antonín Dvořák, Song to the Moon
Antonín Dvořák, Slavonic Dances No. 8 + 10
Julius Fucik, Entrance of the Gladiators
Johannes Klumpp, conductor
Eva Hartova, soprano
Philharmonie Südwestfalen
Sergej Prokofjew, Sinfonia concertante for cello and orchestra in E minor Op. 125
Antonín Dvořák, Symphony No. 5, F major op. 76
Alexey Stadler, violoncello
Göttinger Symphonieorchester
Johannes Klumpp makes music full of agility in fine nuances. (...) The result is the magic of uninhibited, flowing music-making that forgets itself and casts a breathless spell over the listener. Wiesbadener Tageblatt
As a creative partner of the orchestra and an outstanding communicator, Johannes Klumpp develops programmes ranging from the late Baroque to classical modernism that thrill audiences. In his fifth season as Artistic Director of the Heidelberg Symphony Orchestra, he celebrated a special success with the ensemble: under his direction, their complete recording of all Joseph Haydn’s symphonies was awarded the 2025 OPUS Klassik in the category “Symphonic Recording of the Year”. He is currently leading the orchestra in a programme focus entitled “Haydn’s World”.
Since 2013, Johannes Klumpp has served as Chief Conductor and Artistic Director of the Folkwang Chamber Orchestra Essen. Thanks in large part to the acclaimed recordings of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's symphonies and concertos, he has significantly enhanced the ensemble's profile. Over the coming years, the aim is to release a complete recording of all the symphonies here as well. The ensemble’s busy touring schedule also bears his distinctive stamp: in the 2024/25 season he made his debut with the Folkwang Chamber Orchestra at Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie, and the ensemble appeared at the Mozartfest Würzburg as well as the Festival Internacional de Música da Póvoa de Varzim, where it performed together with Julia Lezhneva. He has also created innovative programme formats for unique venues such as the Zeche Zollverein World Heritage Site and the Folkwang Museum, collaborating with well-known personalities like actress Martina Gedeck, composer and pianist Hauschka, and the late publicist Roger Willemsen. To promote dialogue with the audience, Johannes Klumpp regularly uses the moderated concert format, especially in Essen.
His busy concert schedule also takes him to renowned orchestras, including the MDR Symphony Orchestra, the NDR Radiophilharmonie, the Stuttgart State Orchestra, the Dresden Philharmonic, the Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra, the Gulbenkian Orchestra in Lisbon, the Orquesta Ciudad de Granada, the Staatskapelle Weimar, the Düsseldorf Symphony Orchestra, and the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra.
Johannes Klumpp, praised by the press as a "singer-conductor par excellence," is also highly regarded in opera. Klumpp feels a particular affinity with Mozart's work; his Figaro at the Tiroler Landestheater Innsbruck, among others, received great acclaim, and he has conducted Mozart's The Magic Flute and Così fan tutte multiple times. At the same time, his diverse music theatre repertoire, developed since his time as Principal Conductor at the Musiktheater im Revier Gelsenkirchen and as a guest conductor at various opera houses, includes works ranging from Humperdinck's Hansel and Gretel and Nicolai's The Merry Wives of Windsor to Verdi's Aida and Puccini's Manon Lescaut, Britten's Gloriana, and Feldman's Neither. In recent seasons, he has celebrated successes at the Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden, including productions of Lehár's The Merry Widow, Janáček's From the House of the Dead and The Makropulos Case, Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier, and Weber's Der Freischütz.
Born in Stuttgart, he studied viola and learned his craft under Nicolás Pasquet and Gunter Kahlert in Weimar. He gained early recognition through competition successes in Besançon, at the German University Competition "in memoriam Herbert von Karajan," and at the German Conducting Prize. Masterclasses with renowned conductors such as Reinhard Goebel, Kurt Masur, Gennady Rozhdestvensky, and Michail Jurowski completed his artistic training.
Season 2025/26
This biography is to be reproduced without any changes, omissions or additions, unless expressly authorised by the artist management.
Touch my Soul
Mozart Symphonies - how it all began…
Deep innocence
"Guest conductor Johannes Klumpp continued the tradition of General Music Director Rasmus Baumann and introduced the individual works in a charming, informative, and humorous manner."
WAZ, Elisabeth Höving, 24/11/2025
"It is this wonderful harmony, this perfect coordination, that produces a magnificent string sound, guided by a conductor who places great value on elegance – even in his own conducting."
Heilbronner Stimme, Uwe Grosser, 10/6/2025
"Things get lively with a Spanish flair on Kiliansplatz, featuring a visibly spirited Württemberg Chamber Orchestra Heilbronn conducted by Johannes Klumpp, who seems to have sunshine in his soul. And not just when he's doing his main job – conducting – but also when he's hosting. He's a true entertainer who keeps the mood high."
"‘Folkwang Symphony’ brings together young musicians with professional conductor. Johannes Klumpp inspires the symphony orchestra in Essen to peak performances."
WAZ, Pedro Obiera, 19/5/2025
“Johannes Klumpp, chief conductor in Heidelberg and Essen, led the orchestra confidently, was an advocate for expression and precision, but sparing with grand gestures.”
Südkurier, 3/12/2024
“The conductor and director of the orchestra, Johannes Klumpp, has set himself the goal that, by the end of the concert, the audience should be able to "smell" the year 1784, just a little.”
Rhein-Neckar Zeitung, 11/10/2023
“The connection between him [Johannes Klumpp] and the musicians was clear and unambiguous, evident in the tutti entries, which were razor-sharp and clear-cut.”
Rhein-Neckar Zeitung, Matthias Roth, 12/03/2018
Tschaikowsky: Souvenir de Florence op. 70; Folkwang Kammerorchester Essen / Johannes Klumpp
Mozart: Divertimento B-Dur KV 137; Folkwang Kammerorchester Essen / Johannes Klumpp
HAYDN Volume 25 - New Release - Heidelberger Sinfoniker / Johannes Klumpp
Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra / Johannes Klumpp
BackstageClassical mit Axel Brüggemann über Haydns Sinfonien
(in German)
Heidelberger Sinfoniker, Johannes Klumpp
hänsslerCLASSIC, 2025, HC 25052
Folkwang Kammerorchester Essen, Johannes Klumpp
GENUIN, 2025, GEN25909
Heidelberger Sinfoniker, Thomas Fey/Johannes Klumpp
hänsslerCLASSIC, 2024, HC24042
GENUIN, 2024, GEN24864
GENUIN, 2022, GEN22783
GENUIN, 2022, GEN 22762
GENUIN, 2019, GEN19636
Uwaga!, Folkwang Kammerorchester Essen, Johannes Klumpp
Ars Produktion, 2019, ARS38266
Christopf Eß, Folkwang Kammerorchester Essen, Johannes Klumpp
GENUIN, 2018, GEN18618