Celebratory concert for Ralf Weikert’s 85th birthday

Ralf Weikert, born in St. Florian, received his first musical training at the Bruckner Conservatory in Linz. He completed his studies at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna. In 1965, he was awarded first prize at the Nikolai Malko Competition in Copenhagen. One year later, the Austrian Minister of Education presented him with the Mozart Interpretation Prize. In 1975, the Dr. Karl Böhm Prize was personally awarded to him by the conductor himself. Until 1977, Ralf Weikert served as chief conductor at the Theater of the City of Bonn. He then worked as deputy general music director at the Frankfurt Opera and, in 1981, came to Salzburg as chief conductor of the Mozarteum Orchestra and general music director of the State Theatre. He made his debut at the Vienna State Opera in 1974 and at the Hamburg State Opera in 1975, followed by debuts at the Metropolitan Opera in New York in 1987 and at the San Francisco Opera in 1997. In addition, he was a regular conductor at the festivals in Salzburg, Aix-en-Provence, and Bregenz. From 1983 to 1992, he held the position of chief conductor at the Zurich Opera House. Since then, he has worked as a freelance conductor and has appeared as a guest with leading orchestras such as the Berlin and Vienna Philharmonics, the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, the ORF Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Dresden Philharmonic, the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, and many others. Award-winning recordings of operatic and concert repertoire, as well as radio and television productions in Europe and America, were made under his direction. In 2017, his book “Beruf Dirigent” was published by Böhlau Verlag Vienna, followed in 2020 by his autobiography “Der Strom der Töne zog mich fort …”, published by the Swiss Literary Society.