Erwin Ortner

Erwin Ortner, born in Vienna in 1947, was a member of the Vienna Boys’ Choir and studied music education, sacred music, and conducting at the former Vienna Academy of Music with Hans Swarowsky and Hans Gillesberger. From 1980 to 2016, he was Professor of Choral Conducting at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna, serving as its Rector from 1996 to 2002. In 1972, he founded the Arnold Schoenberg Choir, which, under his artistic direction, developed into one of Europe’s leading ensembles. From 1983 to 1995, Erwin Ortner also held the position of Chief Conductor of the ORF Radio Choir. He regularly conducts concerts in Austria and abroad and leads masterclasses in choral and orchestral conducting.

In 2002, he was awarded a Grammy for Best Choral Performance for the recording of Johann Sebastian Bach’s St Matthew Passion, a category honoring both the conductor and the chorus master. In 2010, he received the ECHO Klassik Award for Joseph Haydn’s The Seasons (Arnold Schoenberg Choir, Concentus Musicus Wien, Nikolaus Harnoncourt).