Internationally acclaimed conductor Werner Andreas Albert has enjoyed a long and distinguished career in his native Germany, and for more than 25 years has been much beloved in Australasia. He was chief conductor of the ABC for 8 years and has conducted all 6 Symphony Australia orchestras. His extensive reputation is built on an extraordinary collection of recorded works, mastery of the German Romantic repertoire, and a finely developed skill to inspire and draw out the best in orchestras he conducts.
As a conductor, Werner has held a number of titled positions, including Chief Conductor of the Queensland Symphony, the North West German Philharmonic, the Gulbenkian Orchestra (Lisbon) and the Nuremberg Symphony. He has enjoyed great success conducting tours to the United States, South America, the USSR, China, and most European countries. In recent years he has conducted in Beijing, and at Triphony Hall and Tokyo Opera City Concert Hall in Japan with the New Japan Philharmonic the Tokyo City Symphony Orchestra.
He became famous for recording all of the vast standard repertoire for German Radio over many years, he began to look further afield for new challenges, and applied himself to championing new composers and discovering riches from the immense storehouse of works that have never been recorded. In the process he gained an exemplary reputation as a connoisseur's conductor and earned the distinction of being the most recorded artist in Germany.
He records extensively for the record label CPO. Highlights amongst his many projects include the complete orchestral works of Erich Korngold, Paul Hindemith, Hans Pfitzner and Benjamin Frankel. He has embarked on an extensive new project involving the operatic and symphonic music of Siegfried Wagner, son of Richard Wagner, featuring recordings well as live performances.
Werner has been recognized repeatedly by both the German Federal and Bavarian State Governments for his dedication to music. He holds the title of member of the Bundesverdienstkreuz, Erste Klasse, the German equivalent of the British OM, as well as the Bayerischer Verdienstorden (Bavarian Order of Merit), which is limited to a restricted number of living members. Werner Andreas Albert is Adjunct Professor at the University of Queensland, Australia. Principle Guest Conductor of the Southern Sinfonia since 2007, Werner Andreas Albert pursues an active career, dividing his time between Australasia and Europe.