Kian Jazdi to Succeed Thorsten Schmidt at Heidelberger Frühling

Heidelberger Frühling has chosen Kian Jazdi as its next artistic director and managing director, setting in motion a generational handover at the German festival after three decades under co-founder Thorsten Schmidt.

Jazdi, born in 1991, takes up the full position on 1 October 2027. He begins work immediately as director-designate, allowing him to prepare the 2027–28 festival season before formally assuming responsibility. Marlene Brüggen, currently at the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, will join him as programme director.

The appointment was made by the organisation’s shareholders, the Heidelberger Frühling Music Foundation and the city of Heidelberg, following a selection process. Schmidt will complete the anniversary season before concentrating on his role as chair of the foundation.

Jazdi’s experience includes projects with Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie, Vienna State Opera, Berlin’s Konzerthaus and the Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe. As a co-founder and artistic co-director of Liedstadt, he has worked on ways of bringing classical singing into new contexts and making encounters with the repertoire less dependent on conventional concert habits.

That background meets an organisation whose activities now extend well beyond its original spring festival. Founded in 1997, Heidelberger Frühling also runs chamber-music events, a string-quartet festival and support programmes for emerging artists. Its Liedzentrum combines the preservation of art-song traditions with their renewal through performance and training.

The immediate task for the incoming team is therefore both artistic and organisational: shaping programmes across an established network while preparing a change in leadership. The transition period gives Jazdi and Brüggen time to develop their first season before the formal handover.

No detailed programme for their inaugural year has yet accompanied the appointment. The confirmed change is the leadership structure and timetable, with the festival’s thirtieth anniversary serving as the bridge between its founding director and his successor.