Vienna-born conductor shaping orchestras
through sound, repertoire, and direction.
ARTIST
ADVOCATE
INNOVATOR
Music Director · Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire
Artistic & Music Director · Ulsan Philharmonic Orchestra Principle Guest Conductor · Kraków Philharmonic
Co-Founder & Artistic Director · Opera by the Fjord
Sascha Goetzel
— Inspiration · Musical identity · Human connection
— Dedicated to music as a force for access, education and social change
— Founder, builder, and pioneer of the digital future of classical music
PROFILE
Sascha Goetzel has led orchestras across Europe, Asia and North America to international recognition for over twenty years. Two convictions have guided every tenure: an orchestra must have a distinctive sound identity — and in music-making there is no I, only We. During eleven seasons with the Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic, he built one of the most distinctive orchestral identities in Europe. Together they performed at the Salzburg Festival, the BBC Proms, the Royal Concertgebouw, the Wiener Musikverein, and the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées — releasing a series of award-winning recordings on Deutsche Grammophon and Onyx that brought the orchestra international recognition and a devoted global audience. At the Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire, appointed Music Director in 2022, he grew subscription audiences by over 30% in his first season. His contract has been extended through 2028. His recording of Korngold, Schreker and Krenek with the ONPL on BIS was awarded Best Orchestral Recording 2026 by BBC Music Magazine. Since March 2025 he brings the same commitment to the Ulsan Philharmonic Orchestra in Korea as Artistic and Music Director. The relationships he builds with orchestras are lasting ones. From his earliest positions — Kuopio, Bretagne, Kanagawa, Kirishima — he has maintained close ties with every ensemble he has led, returning as guest conductor whenever seasons allow. For Goetzel, the work with an orchestra is based on mutual trust which does not end when the tenure does. Music Director · Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire, France (2022–2028) Artistic & Music Director · Ulsan Philharmonic Orchestra, Korea (2025–) Principal Guest Conductor · Kraków Philharmonic, Poland (2024–) Conductor in Residence · Banatul Philharmonic Timișoara, Romania (2024/25) Music & Artistic Director · Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic, Turkey (2008–2020) Music Director · National Youth Orchestra of Canada (2022/23) Principal Guest Conductor · Kanagawa Philharmonic, Japan (2013–2017) Conductor in Residence · Kirishima International Music Festival, Japan (2018–2020) Principal Guest Conductor · Orchestre Symphonique de Bretagne, France (2012–2015) Music Director · Kuopio Symphony Orchestra, Finland (2006–2012)
Music and Artistic Director
Symphonic: As a symphonic guest conductor he maintains regular re-engagements with orchestras across four continents — among them the Tonkünstler Orchestra, Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony, Prague Symphony, Slovak Philharmonic, Belgrade Philharmonic, London Philharmonic, NHK-Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre National de France, Netherlands Radio Philharmonic, ORF-Radio Symphony Orchestra, Dresden Philharmonic, Accademia Teatro La Scala Orchestra, and EUYO. In February 2026 he conducted the Stuttgart Philharmonic at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, and in May 2026 he conducts the Concours Musical International de Montréal finals with the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal. Opera: Sascha Goetzel's operatic career began at the Tiroler Landestheater Innsbruck under the Intendanz of Brigitte Fassbaender — in four consecutive seasons (2004–2008) he led various new productions including a complete Mozart/Da Ponte Cycle and La Bohème. Early experience brought him as Assistant Conductor at Los Angeles Opera and at the Vienna Volksoper. His 2014 debut at the Wiener Staatsoper in Le Nozze di Figaro led to return engagements for 6 consecutive seasons, leading perfromances of Le Nozze di Firgao, Don Giovanni, Der Rosenkavalier, La Boheme, Rigoletto and Fledermaus. Other engagments brought included various productions till 2022 at Mariinsky Theatre, Opernhaus Zürich (Zauberflöte), Wiener Volksoper(various productions), opera houses in Nantes, Rennes, Montpellier, Sarasota and Tokyo, Reisopera Netherlands, and most recently Wagner's Flying Dutchman in Norway. During his tenure in Istanbul he founded an Opera Studio, leading new productions over several seasons.
Guest Conductor · Symphony & Opera
Recordings
Goetzel is an award-winning recording artist in both orchestral and accompanist roles, with a discography spanning Deutsche Grammophon, Warner Classics, Onyx, Naïve and BIS. His recording of Korngold, Schreker and Krenek with the Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire on BIS was awarded Best Orchestral Recording 2026 by BBC Music Magazine. Three consecutive orchestral recordings with the Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic each received four and five stars from BBC Music Magazine a.o. As accompanist conductor his collaborations with today's leading soloists have generated multiple international awards. His Baïka with Nemanja Radulović and the Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic on Deutsche Grammophon received five stars and the BBC Music Magazine Critics' Choice Award. His Piazzolla Stories with Lucienne Renaudin Vary and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo on Warner Classics won the Opus Klassik Award · Young Artist of the Year 2021. His Kaleidoscope with soprano Fatma Said and the same orchestra on Warner Classics received the Gramophone Award for Best Song Album and the BBC Music Magazine Vocal Award. Labels · Deutsche Grammophon · Warner Classics · Onyx · Naïve · BIS
Innovation and Digital Transformation
Goetzel is also an entrepreneurial advocate for the future of classical music — from the podium and beyond. Founder of the Orpheus-Vienna Foundation, co-founder of Opera by the Fjord with Bergen National Opera, and Artistic Director of Music for Peace — El Sistema Turkey. Through Orpheus-Vienna, he leads projects at the intersection of classical music and digital innovation — exploring Web3, blockchain, and metaverse technologies to expand access, safeguard artistic voices, and create new forms of artistic collaboration across borders and platforms. Co-founder of the Vienna Art Network(Hybrid Format of Music Education), creator of Symphonic Synesthesia — an immersive cross-platform concert format that reimagines how orchestral music is experienced. Spatial audio collaboration with the Tonkünstler Orchestra through the Euphonya app. A sought-after speaker at international conventions and universities — on leadership, mentorship, and what the classical music enviremont of the future can and should become.
Music as a Social Force
Goetzel has always understood the orchestra as a force for social good — not just a vehicle for artistic excellence. As Artistic Director of Music for Peace — El Sistema Turkey — he has provided free orchestral education to underprivileged children in Istanbul for over a decade, building one of El Sistema's most active European sister projects. During his tenure as Artistic Director of the Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic he founded an Opera Studio, leading new productions over several seasons and creating a platform for young Turkish singers to develop their careers on the international stage. His collaborations with the European Union Youth Orchestra and Sistema Europe reflect a long-standing belief that access to music is a right, not a privilege. As co-founder and co-director of Opera by the Fjord with Bergen National Opera, he created a platform for the next generation of young singers and instrumentalists. He served as Music Director of the National Youth Orchestra of Canada in 2022 and 2023, and mentors emerging conductors through Dirigentloftet, Norway's programme for young conductors. He was Conductor in Residence at the Pacific Music Festival and Kirishima International Music Festival in Japan. At the ONPL he has expanded the orchestra's reach far beyond the concert hall — through regional touring, concerts for underserved audiences, and a conducting masterclass programme launching in Angers in summer 2026. The same commitment shapes his work as Artistic and Music Director of the Ulsan Philharmonic, where community engagement is central to the orchestra's evolving identity.
Soloist collaborations (selection)
Daniil Trifonov · Rudolf Buchbinder · Yuja Wang · Beatrice Rana · Alexander Gavrylyuk · Luca Debargue · Alena Baeva · Liya Petrova · Maxim Vengerov · Vadim Repin · Daniel Hope · Nemanja Radulović · Lucienne Renaudin Vary · Fatma Said · Ksenija Sidorova · Murray Perahia · Arcadi Volodos · Julian Rachlin · Isabelle Faust · Thomas Hampson · Renée Fleming · Anna Netrebko · Joyce DiDonato · Elina Garanca · Angela Gheorghiu · Juan Diego Flórez · Bryn Terfel · Piotr Beczała · Plácido Domingo · José Carreras · Branford Marsalis
New Release
Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire
Sascha Goetzel, conductor
Schreker-Korngold-Krenek
While the three composers featured on this recording are not, in the public perception and sometimes even in that of the performers, among the most significant exponents of Viennese music in the first half of the twentieth century, their remarkably expressive and virtuoso writing is deeply rooted in fin-de-siècle Vienna. They were banned by the dictatorships of the 1930s and then blacklisted in the aftermath of the Second World War by the young European avant-garde, and it is only in years that the beauty and opulence of their works have been rediscovered. Vienna-born conductor Sascha Goetzel writes about the works performed here with the Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire: 'With Korngold, Schreker and Krenek, we're not just hearing music - we're entering a dialogue between past and present, tradition and rebellion, myth and modernity [...] Kongold embodies the emotional sincerity and creative ambition of the late Romantic tradition. Schreker immerses us in the subconscious - mythical, unstable, and rich in feeling. Krenek breaks through the façade, injecting irony, jazz and fragmentation into the orchestral form [...] In their own ways, each composer pushes back against inherited conventions to discover new anguages of sound.'
Reviews
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" From the mid-1910s, Korngold's Sinfonietta written at just 15 and Schreker's Overture to Die Gezeichneten are lushly, boldly Romantic, while Krenek's Potpourri of 1927 chucks elements such as European dance and jazz into the melting pot that its title suggests. Superb playing is matched by first-rate sound. 99
BBC Music Magazine · December 2025 · *****
"Sascha Goetzel plays brilliantly with the excellently orchestrated Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire. Expressive highs and lows, dark and bright passages are effectively and breathtakingly led from culmination to culmination by Goetzel."
Pizzicato · Remy Frank · October 2025
"Sascha Goetzel delivers both youthful power and freshness, supported by an Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire at the very top of its form. The timbres are biting, the rhythms full of vigor, and the percussion section gives itself free rein."
Crescendo Magazine · François Hudry · 21 October 2025 · 10/10
“In a reading that is both detailed and highly dramatic, Sascha Goetzel reveals the irrepressible momentum and flexibility of Korngold’s writing, shaping a performance of voluptuous refinement and constant urgency. His interpretation fuses the spirit of the Viennese waltz tradition—echoing the Strauss dynasty—with a dazzling palette of shimmering orchestral colors, where celesta, piano, and harp play a vital role. The Scherzo combines rhythmic ferocity with expansive breathing, evoking the sweeping energy of Richard Strauss, while the Molto andante unfolds as a hypnotic nocturnal reverie, introduced by the suspended, ethereal voice of the cor anglais and revealing the hypersensitivity of a true composer-poet. The grandiose finale confirms Korngold’s lineage from Richard Strauss, uniting conquering drive with radiant sonic refinement, poised between ecstasy and sensuality. A performance of the highest artistry, delivered by masterful interpreters. This new program, recently performed in Paris (Korngold’s Sinfonietta, La Seine Musicale, October 16, 2025), confirms the indisputable qualities of the Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire: the ONPL has never sounded better, revealing its Viennese affinities with all the required subtlety.”
ClassiqueNews · October 2025
Orpheus-Foundation Vienna
A Place of Invention
The future of art must be shaped with the same seriousness, imagination, and integrity as its past.
The Orpheus Foundation was born from the belief that artistic institutions cannot simply endure the digital age — they must help shape it. It reflects Sascha Goetzel’s conviction that the orchestra cannot remain only an institution of preservation; it must also become a place of invention. Through Orpheus, music, technology, and cultural imagination enter into dialogue to explore what art may become in the century ahead — and what it must protect in order to remain itself.
CURRENT POSITIONS
DIRECTOR MUSICALES
PRINCIPLE GUEST CONDUCTOR
ULSAN PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA
MUSIC & ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
