Zsolt Hamar

Born in 1968 in Budapest, Zsolt Hamar began playing the piano at an early age. He studied composition at the Béla Bartók Conservatory and continued his education at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music, where he studied composition with Emil Petrovics and conducting with Ervin Lukács and Tamás Gál. In 1995, he graduated with distinction (“summa cum laude”).

In the following years, he won several prestigious conducting competitions, including the 8th International Hungarian Television Competition, second prize in Cadaqués (1996), first prize at the International Competition of the European Broadcasting Union (1997), and first prize at the 6th International Antonio Pedrotti Competition in Trento (1999).

In 1997, upon the recommendation of Chief Conductor Zoltán Kocsis, he was appointed First Permanent Conductor of the Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra. From 2000 to 2009, he served as Chief Conductor and Artistic Director of the Pannon Philharmonic Orchestra in Pécs (European Capital of Culture 2010). Concurrently, from 2002 to 2007, he was “Primo direttore ospite” of the Orchestra di Padova e del Veneto.

In 2007, he made his debut at the Opernhaus Zürich, where he conducted numerous premieres and world premieres as a permanent conductor until 2012. From 2012 to 2016, he served as General Music Director of the Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden.

In addition to leading Hungarian orchestras, he has collaborated with major international ensembles such as the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, the Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg, the Bruckner Orchestra Linz, the Frankfurt Opera and Museum Orchestra, the Russian National Orchestra, the Russian National Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Japan Philharmonic Orchestra.

He is also a regular guest at international opera houses including the Oper Frankfurt, the Gothenburg Opera, the Teatro Nacional de São Carlos, the Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, and the Teatro Lirico di Cagliari.

Since 2009, he has been a permanent guest professor of conducting at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music, where he completed his habilitation as Privatdozent in 2011. Since 2016, as Professor at the International Bartók Seminar and Festival, he has devoted himself to mentoring young conductors.

From 2017 to 2020, as successor to Zoltán Kocsis, he served as Chief Conductor of the Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra.

Since 2020, he has been developing his own project, the Collegium Symphonicum Hungaricum, a postgraduate mentoring program for young conductors, offering workshops and opportunities to collaborate with orchestras.

From 2022, he has been Chief Conductor of the Moravská filharmonie Olomouc, and from autumn 2025 he also assumes the role of Supervisor of the Opera Department at the Moravian Theatre Olomouc.

Since 2023, he has been Professor at the Béla Bartók Faculty of Arts of the University of Szeged and Head of the Department of Vocal Studies. In early 2026, he earned his Doctor of Liberal Arts (DLA) degree in conducting in Hungary.

Zsolt Hamar is a recipient of the Knight’s Cross of the Order of Merit of the Hungarian Republic and the Franz Liszt Prize.