A triad of talent

Rector Prof. Elisabeth Gutjahr looks forward to welcoming the newest additions to the teaching faculy. “The Mozarteum University Salzburg enjoys an outstanding reputation worldwide and stands for quality, tradition, innovation and artistic excellence. This is embodied by the great artists Christian Thielemann, Lisa Batiashvili and Claudio Martínez Mehner, who have been appointed as Professors at the Mozarteum University Salzburg from autumn 2026. As such, they will accompany highly talented and motivated students on their path to professionalism, but will also play a key role in shaping the further development of the institution.”

Prof. Hannfried Lucke, Vice-Rector for Art at the Mozarteum University, is equally delighted by the new appointments. “The Mozarteum University Salzburg is thrilled to have secured three internationally renowned artists, Christian Thielemann, Lisa Batiashvili and Claudio Martínez Mehner, for new professorships. With their appointment in October 2026, the Mozarteum underscoring its commitment to the highest musical excellence, artistic diversity and international collaboration – thereby strengthening its position as one of the world’s leading arts universities.”

Christian Thielemann – Professor of Conducting

"I am very much looking forward to passing on my decades of experience to the next generation of young conductors as Professor of Orchestral Conducting at the Mozarteum. I am particularly happy to be able to share this responsible task with my long-standing musical assistant Jobst Schneiderat and Dr Martin Fuchsberger, lecturer in wind orchestra conducting at the Mozarteum. We will develop a diverse and challenging curriculum that will prepare students in the best possible way for their future careers.”

Christian Thielemann

Born in Berlin in 1959, Christian Thielemann is considered one of the most significant conductors of our time. He has been General Music Director of the Staatsoper Unter den Linden since the 2024/25 season. From 2012 to 2024, he was Principal Conductor of the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden, one of Europe's most prestigious orchestras.

After holding positions at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, and in Gelsenkirchen, Karlsruhe, Hannover and Düsseldorf, he became General Music Director in Nuremberg in 1988. In 1997, the Berlin-born conductor returned to his home city as General Music Director of the Deutsche Oper Berlin, before serving in the same position with the Munich Philharmonic from 2004 to 2011.

In addition to his position as chief conductor in Dresden, Thielemann served as artistic director of the Salzburg Easter Festival from 2013 to 2022 and as musical advisor and music director of the Bayreuth Festival. He works closely with the Berlin and Vienna Philharmonic Orchestras, whose New Year's Concerts he conducted in 2019 and 2024. Numerous invitations regularly take him to the world's most important orchestras and opera houses.

Christian Thielemann is an honorary member of the Royal Academy of Music in London, honorary professor at the Carl Maria von Weber University of Music in Dresden, and holds honorary doctorates from the Franz Liszt University of Music in Weimar and the Catholic University of Leuven in Belgium. In 2003, he was awarded the Federal Cross of Merit.

Thielemann has received numerous awards for his artistic work, including the Richard Wagner Prize from the Richard Wagner Foundation in Leipzig in 2015, the Prize of the Foundation for the Promotion of the Semperoper in 2016, the Medal of Honour of the Province of Salzburg and the Gold Coat of Arms Medal of the City of Salzburg in 2022, honorary membership and the Ring of Honour of the Vienna State Opera in 2023, honorary membership of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra in 2024, and appointment as honorary conductor of the Staatskapelle Dresden. The Free State of Saxony also awarded him the Saxon Constitutional Medal.

Thielemann is patron of the Richard Wagner sites in Graupa. His extensive discography has won numerous awards and impressively documents the breadth of his musical work.

Lisa Batiashvili – Professor of Violin

"I am filled with great joy and gratitude at the prospect of taking up the professorship at the Mozarteum University from October 2026. Salzburg stands not only for musical excellence, but also for a deep cultural tradition; it is a place that has always inspired me. After more than 25 years on stage, I now feel the desire to give something back – my knowledge, my experience, my love of music. It is moving to meet this young, curious and lively generation, who are searching for their own path with open hearts and fresh minds. I look forward to accompanying them, challenging them, encouraging them – and learning new things myself in the process.”

Lisa Batiashvili

Lisa Batiashvili, a German violinist of Georgian descent, is equally admired by audiences and colleagues for her extraordinary virtuosity and musical depth. Over the years, the multi-award-winning musician has built close and lasting artistic relationships with the world's most important orchestras, conductors and soloists.

In 2021, she fulfilled a long-held dream by establishing the Lisa Batiashvili Foundation, which is dedicated to promoting young, highly talented Georgian musicians.

The start of the 2025/26 season sees Batiashvili touring with the Munich Philharmonic under Lahav Shani. This will be followed by engagements with Yannick Nézet-Séguin in Montreal and Philadelphia, and a tour with the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra under Klaus Mäkelä in 2026. Other highlights include projects with the Filarmonica della Scala, the Kammerakademie Potsdam, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the Swedish Radio Symphony, the Philharmonia Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra – as well as her passion project City Lights with the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra.

She will be performing chamber music on extensive tours, giving concerts in a piano trio with Jean-Yves Thibaudet and Gautier Capuçon, and in a duo with Giorgi Gigashvili.

Lisa Batiashvili's most recent release on Deutsche Grammophon is the album Secret Love Letters (2022), recorded with Yannick Nézet-Séguin and the Philadelphia Orchestra. Her project City Lights is a musical journey through eleven cities that have special personal or artistic significance in her life – with music ranging from Bach to Morricone, from Dvořák to Charlie Chaplin. A twelfth city was added in 2022 with her single Desafinado, a tribute to Rio de Janeiro. She performed the title track City Memories at the internationally renowned Concert de Paris on Bastille Day in 2020, which was broadcast worldwide.

Her impressive discography also includes Visions of Prokofiev with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe under Nézet-Séguin (awarded the Opus Klassik 2018), recordings of the violin concertos by Tchaikovsky and Sibelius with the Staatskapelle Berlin under Daniel Barenboim, the Brahms violin concerto with the Staatskapelle Dresden under Christian Thielemann, and Shostakovich's Violin Concerto No. 1 with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra under Esa-Pekka Salonen.

Her concerts with the Berlin Philharmonic under Nézet-Séguin, as well as Bartók's Violin Concerto No. 1 and Brahms' Double Concerto (with Gautier Capuçon and the Staatskapelle Dresden under Thielemann) are available on DVD.

Batiashvili has been honoured with numerous awards, including the MIDEM Classical Award, Choc de l’année, the Accademia Musicale Chigiana International Prize, the Leonard Bernstein Award from the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival and the Beethoven Ring Bonn. In 2015, she was named Instrumentalist of the Year by Musical America, nominated for Gramophone Artist of the Year in 2017, and awarded an honorary doctorate by the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki in 2018.

From 2019 to 2022, she was artistic director of the Audi Summer Concerts in Ingolstadt. In 2025, she received the Kaiser Otto Prize from the city of Magdeburg for her commitment to combating war and anti-Semitism and promoting European ideals, as well as the Pro Meritis Scientiae et Litterarum award from the Bavarian State Ministry.

Lisa Batiashvili lives in Berlin and plays a Joseph Guarneri ‘del Gesù’ violin from 1739 – generously loaned to her by a private collector in Germany.

Claudio Martínez Mehner – Professor of Piano

"As a newly appointed university professor of piano, my goal is to build a broad and diverse group of piano students. I would like to create an environment in which musical curiosity, stylistic versatility, and personal expressiveness are equally encouraged. […] The aim is to train musicians who can bring music to life and pass it on with an alert ear, a free spirit and sound knowledge."

Claudio Martínez Mehner

Claudio Martínez Mehner is one of the most sought-after lecturers and renowned piano teachers worldwide. He regularly gives masterclasses in Europe, Asia and the USA. Claudio Martínez Mehner currently holds professorships for piano at the University of Music in Basel and the Cologne University of Music and Dance.

The list of award-winners who are privileged to have studied with him is impressive. His international engagements, broad repertoire and teaching activities at outstanding institutions make him one of the most important figures in classical piano playing.

Born in Bremen in 1970, Mehner began his studies at an early age at the Royal Conservatory in Madrid with Amparo Fuster, Pedro Lerma and Joaquín Soriano. He continued his training at the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow and at the Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía in Madrid with Prof. Dmitri Bashkirov. He then studied at the University of Music in Freiburg with Vitalij Margulis, at the Fondazione per il Pianoforte in Como (Italy) and at the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore (USA) with Leon Fleisher. In addition, he received lessons from Prof. Ferenc Rados over several years. 

Claudio Martínez Mehner established himself early on in the international competition scene: in 1990, he was a finalist at the Paloma O'Shea International Piano Competition in Santander, and in the following years he won first prizes at the Pilar Bayona (Zaragoza), Fondation Chimay (Belgium) and Dino Ciani (Milan).

He has performed as a soloist throughout Europe, the United States, Canada, Russia, Central America, Japan and Korea, with orchestras including the Munich Philharmonic, the Moscow Philharmonic, the Filarmonica del Teatro alla Scala, the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, the Prague Philharmonic, the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, the North German Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Philharmonia Hungarica and numerous Spanish orchestras.

He regularly gives masterclasses in Europe, Asia and the USA.

A Trio for the Future

By appointing Christian Thielemann, Lisa Batiashvili and Claudio Martínez Mehner, the Mozarteum University Salzburg is making a powerful statement about its vision for the future: three artists who stand for the highest musical quality, pedagogical passion and international appeal in their respective disciplines.

The three new professors will take up their posts at the beginning of the 2026/27 winter semester.