Alain Altinoglu

Alain Altinoglu (born 9 October 1975) is a French conductor of Armenian descent, and an academic teacher. He is chief conductor of both the La Monnaie opera in Brussels and the Frankfurt Radio Symphony, and has conducted at international opera houses, halls and festivals. He teaches at the Conservatoire de Paris.

Life and career
Born in Paris, into an Armenian family who were originally from Istanbul, Altinoglu studied music at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris. After finishing his studies at the Conservatoire, he joined the school's faculty and became director of the conducting class there in 2014.

Alain Altinoglu is one of the first conductors to conduct a production wholly, or partially composed of electronic music. In 2006 he conducted the symphonic orchestra that performed alongside the renowned Techno producer Jeff Mills' landmark recording. This performance is considered as an exceptional performance, wherein classical music and modern electronic music is combined in a rhythmic orchestral performance.

Altinoglu first appeared as a guest conductor with La Monnaie in 2011, conducting a production of Massenet's Cendrillon. In September 2015, La Monnaie announced the appointment of Altinoglu as its next music director, effective January 2016; it was his first formal post with an opera house. In December 2019, La Monnaie announced the extension of Altinoglu's contract through 2025. and then 2031. He has conducted opera at the Vienna State Opera, the Metropolitan Opera, the Aix-en-Provence Festival, and the Bavarian State Opera in Munich, among others. At the Bayreuth Festival, he conducted the 2015 performances of Lohengrin in the production by Hans Neuenfels; his conducting was described as "brisk, suspenseful, with a feeling for dramatic intensification and yet always transparent".

In August 2019, Altinoglu first guest-conducted the Frankfurt Radio Symphony. In December 2019, the hr-Sinfonieorchester announced the appointment of Altinoglu as its next chief conductor, effective with the 2021/22 season, with an initial contract of three seasons, as his first chief conductor position with a symphony orchestra. Frankfurter Rundschau wrote about his inaugural concert: "Plastic, concise, perfectly coordinated" ("Plastisch, prägnant, perfekt koordiniert"). In May 2023, the Hessischer Rundfunk announced an extension of Altinoglu's contract as the orchestra's chief conductor through the 2027–2028 season. The orchestra plays traditionally the opening concert of the Rheingau Musik Festival at Eberbach Abbey, where Altinoglu has presented French music, such as Poulenc's Stabat Mater with the MDR Rundfunkchor in 2023.

Altinoglu is married to the mezzo-soprano Nora Gubisch. The couple perform in recital together, and have recorded commercially together. Altinoglu has also made other commercial recordings on CD and on DVD, including Pascal Dusapin's Perelà uomo di fumo, Lalo's Fiesque, Honegger's Jeanne d'Arc au bûcher and Massenet's Thérèse.