The Canadian musician has shown a profound commitment to the music of our time and has given the world première performances of over 85 new creations. Her concerts are intended as exciting overall experiences where the end result is greater than the sum of the parts. Internationally, she works successfully with, among others, the Berliner Philharmoniker, the London Symphony Orchestra, where she is Associate Artist, and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, where she is Première Artiste Invitée.
The audience may be treated to a moving solo song, surprising music combinations or a dramatic performance that touches deeply. When she both conducts and sings, a very special feeling arises in the interaction with the audience.
The world’s critics have also noticed this. The Financial Times wrote that “Hannigan has an ability to create colors of exceptional poetic beauty” and Presto stated that “her interpretation is extremely intense and highly personal.”
Barbara Hannigan has had a rewarding collaboration with the Gothenburg Symphony Orcehstra for many years. She gave her first concert with the orchestra in 2013 as conductor and soloist in pieces by Mozart, Ligeti and Rossini. In 2015-2016, Hannigan was the orchestra’s Artist in Residence with Alban Berg’s Lulu suite in the repertoire. In 2018 Barbara Hannigan gave acclaimed performances of Stravinsky’s opera The Road of the Rucklar.
In 2019 she was appointed the orchestra’s first guest conductor, a contract she extended in September 2022 through the summer of 2025. She has presented both Schönberg’s powerful Verklärte Nacht and the suite from Gershwin’s irresistible Girl Crazy.
In recent times, she has received increasing international attention and has been awarded several prizes and awards. In 2018, the Royal Academy of Music’s prestigious Rolf Schock Prize and 2020 Dresdener Musikfestspiele Glashütte Award. 2021 she received the Léonie Sonning Music Prize in Copenhagen and was awarded an honorary scholarship by The Sten A Olsson Foundation for Research and Culture.
As a singer and conductor, Barbara Hanniga collaborates with leading orchestras such as the London Symphony Orchestra, the French Radio Philharmonic, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and the Munich Philharmonic. Barbara Hannigan’s debut album as a singer and conductor, Crazy Girl Crazy, was released in 2017 and received both a Grammy and a Juno for best vocal album.
Her commitment to the younger generation of musicians led her to create the mentor initiative Equilibrium Young Artists 2017.
“What I can do is bring young artists to my sphere of performance, invite them to share the stage with me and learn with me. We will work as colleagues. I will lead, as music director for the projects, and will mentor the younger artists by providing professional guidance and advice. I will give advice, consult and guide in situations before and after rehearsals, but the stimulus for the discipline I try to instill should come from the work environment. ” Barbara Hannigan

Music of the Spheres and Close Friendships
Music of the Spheres with the Gothenburg Symphony, Barbara Hannigan conductor and vocals and Christian Lindberg trombone.

Gothenburg Symphony plays in Vara Konserthus
Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra plays in Vara Konserthus together with conductor Barbara Hannigan and Christian Lindberg trombone.

Animatopia
Dramatic comedy with the Gothenburg Symphony, Barbara Hannigan conductor, David Dencik actor, Katia & Marielle Labèque piano and Laurent Naouri baritone.

High-octane with Hannigan
There’s room for every emotion when the Gothenburg Symphony meets the conducting soprano Barbara Hannigan.

Hannigan's Sunday
A nice Sunday evening filled with emotional music with Barbara Hannigan and musicians from the Gothenburg Symphony.

A truly wonderful experience
Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra consists of 109 musicians who are driven by their love of music and a desire to provide you with a truly wonderful experience that will live long in the memory. It is this passion and ambition that makes the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, the National Orchestra of Sweden, one of the world’s foremost orchestras.
Related videos

“My mother would have loved the programme”
Listen to a captivating interview where conductor Barbara Hannigan talks about the importance of a dramaturgical thread through the music.

Interview with Hannigan
Barbara Hannigan principal guest conductor, soprano
Read more in the magazine

Nr 1 2021-2022 Hannigans nya liv
Exklusiv intervju med Göteborgs Symfonikers förste gästdirigent

Nr 1 2015-2016 Här behövs ingen kavaj – av Barbara Hannigan
När jag var ungefär tio år bestämde jag mig för att bli musiker. Jag var inte säker på vilken sorts, men att dirigera hade jag inte ens en tanke på. Jag växte upp i en liten by och trodde att kvinnor bara kunde dirigera körer, eller som mest skolorkestrar.

Nr 1 2015-2016 Artist in Residence: Barbara Hannigan
Säsongens Artist in Residence Barbara Hannigan hör till den lilla utvalda skara artister som tycks besitta allt: ljuvlig röst, starkt dramatiskt utspel, känsla för fraseringens skönhet och ett kompromisslöst konstnärskap.