20 Facts About Christoph Eschenbach

Christoph Eschenbach's parents were Margarethe, a singer and teacher of piano, and Heribert Ringmann, a conductor and musicologist in Breslau and Posen.

Christoph Eschenbach's father continued to conduct until the very end of 1943, when he conducted the Brahms Requiem in Breslau, before being inducted into the German army.

Christoph Eschenbach was killed by Russian forces in Thuringen in 1945.

Christoph Eschenbach lived with Wallydore and her husband Wolfram Eschenbach in Wismar, then in Neustadt in Holstein.

In 1955, Christoph Eschenbach enrolled at the Musikhochschule in Cologne, studying piano with Hans-Otto Schmidt-Neuhaus and conducting with Wilhelm Bruckner-Ruggeberg.

Christoph Eschenbach completed his Abitur at the Einhard-Gymnasium in Aachen in 1959.

Christoph Eschenbach then pursued studies at the Hochschule fur Musik und Theater Hamburg with Eliza Hansen and Wilhelm Bruckner-Ruggeberg.

Christoph Eschenbach continued to study conducting with George Szell, with whom he worked for more than three years.

In 1981, Christoph Eschenbach became principal guest conductor of the Tonhalle-Orchester Zurich, and was chief conductor from 1982 to 1986.

Christoph Eschenbach was co-artistic director of the Pacific Music Festival from 1992 to 1998.

Christoph Eschenbach was chief conductor of the NDR Symphony Orchestra, Hamburg from 1998 to 2004.

Christoph Eschenbach was artistic director of the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival from 1999 until 2003, and became principal conductor of the Schleswig-Holstein Festival Orchestra in 2003.

From 2000 to 2010, Christoph Eschenbach was music director of the Orchestre de Paris.

Christoph Eschenbach was music director of the Ravinia Festival from 1994 to 2005.

Christoph Eschenbach has made more than 80 recordings as piano soloist, conductor, or both, has appeared in several television documentaries, and has made many concert broadcasts for different European, Japanese and US networks.

Christoph Eschenbach is credited with helping and supporting talented young musicians in their career development, including soprano Renee Fleming, pianists Tzimon Barto and Lang Lang, cellists Claudio Bohorquez, and Daniel Muller-Schott, and soprano Marisol Montalvo.

Christoph Eschenbach became the seventh music director of The Philadelphia Orchestra in 2003.

Christoph Eschenbach's appointment generated controversy because, at the time of the announcement, Eschenbach had not conducted the orchestra in over four years and there was a perceived lack of personal chemistry between him and the musicians prior to the appointment.

Christoph Eschenbach hasn't conducted us in four or five years and 20 to 30 persons had never played with him.

Christoph Eschenbach subsequently took the title of conductor laureate of the NSO.