Frank Cramer

Frank Cramer was born in Essen, Germany, were he studied conducting at the Folkwang University of the Arts. He completed his studies at the University for Music in Hamburg with Horst Stein. After his first engagement at the State Theater in Oldenburg, he performed at the Theatre of Würzburg in the position of the vize principal conductor from 1980-88.

In result of his celebrated success with Verdis Aida in the Arena Sferisterio di Macerata in 1989, Frank Cramer has been invited to concert halls and opera houses throughout Europe, the USA, Eastern Asia and South Africa. He conducted among others at the opera houses of Zurich, Basel, Bern, Vienna (Volksoper), Hungarian State Opera Budapest, Semperoper Dresden, German Opera on the Rhine Düsseldorf - Duisburg, Darmstadt, Trieste and Pretoria. His broad repertoire ranges from Mozarts' Le Nozze di Figaro to Wagners'Tristan und Isolde and Strauss' Salome to Bergs' Wozzeck.

International critics characterize Frank Cramer as a conductor who, in a very unique way, combines inspiration, intensity and expression with naturalness and professional skill.

In concerts Frank Cramer favors the composers Beethoven, Mozart, Mahler and particulary Bruckner. Further more he devoted himself to non-main stream composers like the late romantics Zemlinsky, Korngold, Stephan and Nielsen or composers like Messiaen, Lutoslawski, Schönberg, Berg, Webern and Ives. His immense concert repertoire results from his long term cooperation with orchestras such as the RAI National Symphony Orchestra Turin, the Orchestra della Toscana Florence,the Orchestra dell'Arena di Verona, the Bern Symphony Orchestra, the Radio Symphony Orchestra Basel, the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra, the WDR Cologne Radio Orchestra, the Real Symphony Orchestra of Sevilla, the National Orchestra desPays de la Loire, the Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra, the Philharmonic Orchestra of Nice, the Orchestra of the Teatro Lirico di Caligari, the Philharmonic Orchestra Budapest, the Hungarian National Philharmony and the Korean Symphony Orchestra.

Frank Cramer has been invited to many Festivals such as the Biennale Munich, the Budapest Spring Festival (Hungarian National Philharmony), the Music Festival Mecklenburg- Vorpommern and the renowned Tongyeong International Music Festival in South-Korea. Numerous radio- and television productions for the West German Radio, the Bavarian Radio, the ZDF, the MDR Leipzig, the Swiss Radio DRS and the Radiotelevisione Italiana (the RAI National Symphony Orchestra Turin) show his artistic work.

For Dacapo, Frank Cramer recorded the complete symphonies of the Danish late-romantic composer Ludolf Nielsen with the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra and the Danish Philharmonic Orchestra and recently he recorded works of the Danish composer Finn Høffding with the Jena Philharmonic Orchestra.

The CD label Marco Polo published Louis Spohr's violin concertos nos. 3 and 9, which Cramer recorded together with the Slowakian Radio Symphony Orchestra and the violin soloist Christiane Edinger. From 1988 to 2009 Frank Cramer worked as professor for conducting at the University of Music Karlsruhe, Germany. In 2009 he was nominated as professor for opera and music theatre at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Graz | Austria. In 2008/9 among others he gave his debut at the Semper Opera Dresden, as well as with the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra and conducted symphony concerts in Germany, Austria, Italy and South-Korea.2010 he conducted the Korean first night of Alban Berg´s "Lulu" at the Korean National Opera at the Seoul Arts Center. This was broadcasted by the KBS.

Frank Cramer resides in Munich and Graz.