Mark Rohde

  • “Staying very close to the score, he revealed a wealth of shifting light and perspective through magnificent horns, sparkling woodwinds, and precise strings..”

    Mathias Wiedemann, Main-Post

  • "The conductor led the beloved symphony to enthusiastically received experience."

    Klaus Linsenmeyer, Fränkische Nachrichten

  • “Rohde conducts with clarity and precision where rhythmic complexity demands it, while giving the Philharmonic players space where intense mutual listening is required.”

    Mathias Wiedemann, Main-Post

  • “In Bruckner, his ability became evident to structure a long, highly complex work economically without stripping it of its aura.”

    Mathias Wiedemann, Main-Post

  • “The emphasis on orchestral splendor never lapsed into ponderous symphonic solemnity or misplaced sentimentality.”

    Klaus Linsenmeyer, Fränkische Nachrichten

Born in Hamburg, Mark Rohde is General Music Director of the Mainfranken Theater Würzburg.

Mr. Rohde has conducted leading orchestras including the Munich Philharmonic, the Gewandhaus Orchestra Leipzig, the Beethoven Orchestra Bonn, the NDR Radio Philharmonic, the Munich Symphony Orchestra, the Wuppertal Symphony Orchestra, and the Lithuanian National Philharmonic. He appears regularly in concert with distinguished soloists such as Antje Weithaas, Nils Mönkemeyer, and Maximilian Hornung. Guest engagements have taken him, among others, to the Staatstheater Nuremberg, Opera Bonn, the Staatstheater Kassel, and Theater St. Gallen. Several tours have led him to Asia.

Following violin studies in Frankfurt am Main and conducting studies with Prof. Christof Prick in Hamburg, Mr. Rohde began his career as a répétiteur and Kapellmeister. In 2011, he was appointed First Kapellmeister at the Hanover State Opera. His repertoire there included, alongside the major Italian operas, a particular focus on late-Romantic and contemporary works. In Hanover, Mr. Rohde worked with renowned singers such as Thomas Hampson, Neil Shicoff, and Bryn Terfel. In 2019, he moved to the National Theatre Mannheim as Deputy General Music Director; from 2020 to 2025, he served as General Music Director of the Mecklenburg State Theatre Schwerin.

In 2022, Mr. Rohde released his first CD featuring works by the composer Emilie Mayer on the Dabringhaus und Grimm label. In 2023, he conducted the premiere of Giselle at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein. In 2024, he conducted the Gewandhaus Orchestra at the Leipzig Opera in performances of La Bohème and Hänsel und Gretel, as well as at the Leipzig Opera Ball. In September 2024, Mark Rohde served as President of the Jury of the prestigious International Aeolus Wind Competition in Düsseldorf.

In 2024, Mr. Rohde also conducted the central state ceremony for the Day of German Unity, as well as the ZDF broadcast Christmas with the Federal President.

In December 2025, he recorded concertos by the composer Josef Schelb with the Munich Radio Orchestra, Oliver Triendl, Hervé Joulain, and other soloists; the CD will be released in 2026.

Mr. Rohde is also deeply committed to contemporary music. He has been a frequent guest at the Munich Biennale and has conducted world premieres by composers such as Jörg Widmann, Giorgio Battistelli, Peter Michael Hamel, and Klaus Lang.

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