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Leading Swiss orchestra extends contract with Poland’s Krzysztof Urbański

24.02.2026 15:30
The Bern Symphony Orchestra has extended its collaboration with Polish conductor Krzysztof Urbański for another five seasons until 2032.
The Bern Theatre opera house.
The Bern Theatre opera house.Photo: Nikolai Karaneschev, CC BY 3.0

Urbański has served as the orchestra’s chief conductor since the 2024/25 season.

In a statement for the media, Urbański said: “I am delighted to extend my collaboration as chief conductor of the Bern Symphony Orchestra. Working with the orchestra and the entire team at Stages Bern has been a great privilege and a constant source of artistic inspiration in past seasons. I deeply appreciate the strong and trusting relationship that has developed with our audience. This extension reaffirms my commitment to the artistic vision we have shaped together and will continue to develop over the coming years, allowing us to present an even more diverse and wider repertoire to the audience.”

Urbański is also the first guest conductor of the Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana, and  music director and artistic director of the Warsaw Philharmonic.

Now 43, he took up the post in Warsaw in 2024, as the youngest conductor at the helm of one of Poland’s top orchestras in its post-war history.

A graduate of the Fryderyk Chopin Music Academy in Warsaw in 2007, Urbański had previously worked closely with the Trondheim Symphony Orchestra in Norway, the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, and the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, among others.

(mk/jh)