Conductors

Jakob Lehmann

Jakob Lehmann is quickly establishing himself as a highly sought-after conductor, energetically merging historically informed performance styles and fundamental stylistic research with emotionally sincere and engaging performances on period as well as modern instruments, both in the symphonic and operatic world. 

In the 2025-2026 season, he starts a long-term exploration of Rossini’s music on period instruments together with the Monteverdi Choir and Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique, and debuts with Symfonieorkest Vlaanderen and at the Indiana University Bloomington. He also follows re-invitations to Bruckner Orchester Linz, Tonkünstler Orchester, La Banda storica Bern, Les Siècles performing works by Wagner & Lizst. Furthermore, he conducts a new production of Berlioz’ La damnation de Faust at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées with Benjamin Bernheim in the title role, as well as a new production of Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor as a co-production between Opéra de Rennes and Angers-Nantes Opéra. He will also work with Vienna Volksoper, SWR Symphonieorchester and WDR Köln. 

Previous orchestral collaborations have included Sinfonieorchester Liechtenstein, Orchestra La Scintilla, Collegium Novum Zürich, Wiener Concert-Verein, the Juilliard Orchestra and Juilliard415, Wiener Symphoniker, Beethoven Orchester Bonn, Bochumer Symphoniker, Brandenburger Symphoniker and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. 
 
He is held in high regard amongst period instrument orchestras for his expertise in the historical performance of classical and romantic repertoire. Recently, he conducted Les Siècles in Bruckner’s Ninth Symphony at the International Bruckner Festival in Linz for the composer’s 200th anniversary celebrations. He also enjoys collaborations with Anima Eterna Brugge, Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century, Concerto Köln, and Orchestra La Scintilla. 

 
Jakob is the Artistic Director of Eroica Berlin, a chamber orchestra he founded in 2015 which has performed at Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie, Bachfest Leipzig, and three times at Brucknerhaus Linz. The group consists of young musicians from Berlin and focuses on translating the impulses and inspirations from period performance to modern instruments. 
 
As a specialist for the music of Gioachino Rossini and the Bel canto period, he has contributed greatly to the exploration and research into the historically informed performance practice of this style, and his conducting in this repertoire has been described by the press as “a revelation”, “extraordinary”, and “striking”. Between 2019 and 2025 he served as Associate Artistic Director of New York-based opera company Teatro Nuovo, and led productions of operas by Rossini, Bellini, Donizetti, and Verdi to great critical acclaim, most recently Macbeth. 

Jakob's discography encompasses a wide range of repertoire on various labels. His two most recent albums include "Mozart 1791" with Concerto Köln (Warner Classics) and his 2024 recording of Rossini's L'italiana in Algeri with Eroica Berlin (Pan Classics) which was praised for its "astonishing approach", and "relentless enthusiasm."