Since 2002 Marek Janowski has made his mark on the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin as its principal conductor. Between 1984 and 2000 he led the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France to the front ranks of French orchestras. In parallel to that work he was the principal conductor of the Gürzenich-Orchester in Cologne from 1986 to 1990. Since 2000 Marek Janowski has headed the Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte Carlo. In autumn 2005 he took over the direction of the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande in Geneva.
Born in Warsaw in 1939, raised and educated in Germany, Marek Janowski’s artistic career went from his activity as répétiteur and Kapellmeister in Aachen, Cologne, Düsseldorf, and Hamburg to engagements as general music director in Freiburg im Breisgau (1973–75) and Dortmund (1975–79). His period in Dortmund was followed by lively activity on the international and concert scene. Marek Janowski’s complete recording of Richard Wagner’s “Der Ring des Nibelungen” with the Staatskapelle Dresden is universally considered one of the most interesting recordings of all time in musical terms. His CDs of recent years have won numerous prizes: Olivier Messiaen’s “Turangalîla” Symphony and the four symphonies of Albert Roussel (which received a Diapason d’Or in 1996).
In 1999 Marek Janowski accepted for the first time an invitation to conduct the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin. In 2004 he recorded with the RSB Hindemith’s last opera, “Das lange Weihnachtsmahl – The Long Christmas Dinner” (WERGO CD WER 66762), after the recording of “Die Harmonie der Welt – The Harmony of the World” (WERGO CD WER 66522) had already received three renowned prizes: the Echo Klassik in 2003, the Grand Prix du disque de l’Académie Charles Cros in 2003, and the Cannes Classical Award in 2004. Their first CD together – lieder by Richard Strauss, sung by the Finnish soprano Soile Isokoski – received a Gramophone Award in October 2002.