Gábor Káli

After replacing Iván Fischer upon the maestro’s request in April 2019 with the prestigious Budapest Festival Orchestra, earning rave reviews and standing ovations in major cities and venues such as Budapest, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Paris and Luxembourg Philharmonies, Hungarian Gábor Káli positioned himself as one of the most promising young conductors.

The 2026/2027 season sees Hungarian conductor Gábor Káli return to the Hungarian State Opera, Theater an der Wien, Ballett Zürich, NFM Wrocław Philharmonic, MAV Symphony Orchestra, Nationaltheater Mannheim while future engagements will see him return to the Queensland Symphony after his previous success with Daniel Lozakovich, the Auckland Philharmonic, the Liszt Academy and the Cologne Opera just to emntione a few.

Over the last seasons, he was invited to the prestigious Bayerische Staatsoper (Turandot, the Bartered Bride), Staatsoper Berlin (Così fan tutte), Theater und Philharmonie Essen (Bluebeard’s Castle), Semperoper Dresden (Magic Flute), Oper Köln (Così fan tutte), Graz Opera (Madame Butterfly) Nationaltheater Mannheim (Così fan tutte), as well as to major orchestras such as Wiener Symphoniker, MDR Sinfonieorchester Leipzig, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Münchner Rundfunkorchester, Staatskappelle Dresden, Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre de Chambre de Paris at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, Staatsorchester Stuttgart, Gulbenkian Orchestra, Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana, Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz, Macao Symphony Orchestra and Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra. In 2024/25 he debuted with the is NDR Radio Philharmonie and New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, led the Symfonieorkest Vlannderen while returning to the Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra.

Other recent highlights include several performances of Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte at Dresden’s Semperoper upon Christian Thielemann’s invitation, and Verdi’s Rigoletto at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein, Radio-Symphonieorchester Wien at Salzburg Festival, as well as guest-invitations to Orchestre de Paris and RSO Wien at the Musikverein, Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre National de Lille, Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic orchestras, Scottish Chamber Orchestra on tour, Irish Chamber Orchestra, Kölner Kammerorchester, Hong Kong Sinfonietta, Staatsorchester Stuttgart, Philharmonie Zuidnederland and Taiwan Philharmonic.

As a very versatile and capable musician, Gábor Káli is also highly committed to contemporary repertoire, regularly conducting new music and premiering various works across the globe. He is particularly appreciated and sought-after for his deep knowledge of Bartók’s works which led him to conduct Budapest Festival Orchestra on tour.

Gábor Káli was awarded the prestigious Nestlé and Salzburg Festival Young Conductors Award in 2018. In the same year he also won first prize at the inaugural Hong Kong International Conducting Competition.

In 2015, he took up the position of First Kapellmeister and Deputy Music Director of the Nürnberg Staatstheater, conducting Berg’s Wozzeck, Puccini’s La Bohème, Janáček ’s From the House of the Dead, Bizet’s The Pearl Fishers, Strauss’ Arabella and Verdi’s Otello.
Káli studied piano and conducting at the Franz Liszt Music Academy in Budapest. He joined the Dirigentenforum of the Deutsche Musikrat, where he attended masterclasses with Kurt Masur, Colin Metters and Sian Edwards. He also took part in courses with Péter Eötvös, Bernhard Haitink, David Zinman and the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich.