Hans Graf, conductor
Known for his intensely musical interpretations of a wide-ranging repertoire and creative programming, the distinguished Austrian conductor, Hans Graf, is one of today's most highly respected musicians. Currently Music Director of the Houston Symphony, a post for which he was unanimously chosen in September 2000, Mr. Graf is also in the sixth year of his tenure as Music Director of the Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine and recently completed his eighth and final season as Music Director of the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra. He makes his Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra debut this season.

Hans Graf is a sought-after guest conductor in the United States and has led the orchestras of Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Atlanta, St. Louis, Baltimore, Dallas and St. Paul among many others, and has participated in this country's prestigious festivals including Blossom, Wolftrap and the Mostly Mozart Festival at Lincoln Center. Over the past decade he has appeared regularly with the Boston Symphony Orchestra both during the subscription season and at the Tanglewood Music Festival. During the 2003-2004 season, Mr. Graf makes his debuts with the Philadelphia Orchestra and the National Symphony at the Kennedy Center.

Internationally, Hans Graf conducts in the major concert halls of Scandinavia, France, Italy, Japan and Australia. He has appeared with the Vienna Philharmonic, Vienna Symphony and Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra as well as with the St. Petersburg, Czech and Israel Philharmonics. In addition, he has participated in such important European festivals as the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Bregenz, Aix en Provence, Orange and Savonlinna in Finland and appeared at the Salzburg Festival for 12 consecutive seasons. Mr. Graf first conducted the Vienna State Opera in 1981 and has since led productions in the opera houses of Berlin, Munich, Paris and Rome.

Born in 1949 near Linz, Hans Graf studied violin and piano as a child. He entered the Musikhochschule in Graz in 1967 from which he received diplomas in piano and conducting. He continued his conducting studies with Franco Ferrara in Siena, Sergiu Celibidache in Bologna, and Arvid Jansons in Weimar and Leningrad. From 1975 to 1976, Mr. Graf was the Music Director of the Iraqi National Symphony Orchestra in Baghdad and he began coaching at the Vienna State Opera in 1977. His international career was launched in 1979 when he was awarded first prize at the Karl Böhm Competition. He was appointed Music Director of the Mozarteum Orchester Salzburg in 1984, a post he held for 10 years.

Hans Graf's discography includes the complete symphonies of Mozart and Schubert and the premiere recording of Zemlinsky's opera Es war einmal. He has recorded for EMI, Orfeo, Erato, Capriccio and JVC and is currently recording the complete orchestral works of Henri Dutilleux with the Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine for the BMG Arte Nova label. In June 2002, Mr. Graf was awarded the Chevalier de l'ordre de la Legion d'Honneur by the French government for championing French music around the world.