The Tonhalle Düsseldorf is mourning the loss of Mark-Andreas Schlingensiepen. As the venue announced on Tuesday, the conductor, ensemble leader, and composer died on Saturday, May 2nd. He had turned 70 on April 29th and was unable to attend a concert celebrating his birthday.

Mark-Andreas Schlingensiepen (1956-2026)

With his ensemble "notabu," Schlingensiepen performed more than 500 works at the Tonhalle, including numerous world premieres. "He was the most frequent conductor at the Tonhalle over the past 50 years."

Born in Bradford, northern England, in 1956 to German parents, he moved with his family to Berlin in 1960 and to Düsseldorf in 1969. There he studied piano from 1976, later adding conducting to his studies. In 1983, the year he graduated, he founded an ensemble for contemporary music, which became independent in 1992 and soon renamed itself "notabu.ensemble neue musik." From 1985 onward, the then-director of the Tonhalle, Peter Girth, brought the ensemble to the venue, which remains his most important place of work to this day.

Schlingensiepen gave the music of today at the Tonhalle a very distinctive character, according to an obituary. "We are eternally grateful to him for this. Our deepest condolences go to those close to him, especially his family."

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