Versatility, musicality and technical precision, and above all a natural and passionate approach are trademark features of French conductor Ariane Matiakh. The daughter of two opera singers, she grew up in an exceptionally musical environment and learnt to play the piano at an early age. Later, she studied orchestral conducting in Vienna, where she also sang in the renowned Arnold Schoenberg Choir under conductors including Nikolaus Harnoncourt and Adam Fischer. Particularly formative experiences during her comprehensive training include the time she spent studying with Leopold Hager, Yuji Yuasa, and Seiji Ozawa.

Ariane Matiakh has been principal conductor of the Württemberg Philharmonic Orchestra Reutlingen since the 2022/23 season. In addition to her commitments in Reutlingen, her engagements for the 2025/26 season include a new production of Janáček's The Cunning Little Vixen at the Stuttgart State Opera, Philippe Leroux's L'Annonce faite à Marie at the Théâtre du Châtelet, and Poulenc's La Voix Humaine and Escaich's Point d'Orgue at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées. Concert engagements will also take her to the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, the Norrköping Symphony Orchestra, the Orquesta Sinfónica de Tenerife, and other international orchestras.

As a guest conductor, she regularly works with leading orchestras such as the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra, the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, the Gürzenich Orchestra Cologne, the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestre de Paris, the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Dresden Philharmonic, the WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne, the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Basel Symphony Orchestra, the NDR Radio Philharmonic Orchestra Hanover, the MDR Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, the Orchestre Métropolitain, the Orchestre du Capitole de Toulouse, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales.

Ariane Matiakh’s first appointment as Assistant Conductor in an opera house was at the Opéra et Orchestre de Montpellier, where she worked closely together with James Conlon, Armin Jordan, Emmanuel Krivine and Alain Altinoglu, among others. In the 2024/25 season, Ariane made her debut at Deutsche Oper Berlin (Carmen), at La Monnaie conducting a new opera by Mikael Karlsson Fanny and Alexander and returned to the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden (Carmen). Opera engagements in recent years have included Stuttgart and Hamburg Staatsoper, Norwegian Opera and Ballet (Carmen), the Royal Opera House (La bohème), Komische Oper Berlin (Le nozze di Figaro) Göteborg Opera (Madama Butterfly), Opéra de Nice (Die Zauberflöte), Oper Halle (Tosca) and Opéra du Rhin (Werther, Samson et Dalila, La voix humaine) among others.

Her repertoire covers numerous operas to a wide spectrum of symphonic works and operas to contemporary compositions.

Ariane Matiakh’s discography includes a Grammy nomination for her Capriccio recording of both piano concertos by Zara Levina with the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra. For the Capriccio label, she has also recorded the works of Johanna Doderer as well as a CD with music by Francis Poulenc and Jean Françaix. As part of a further collaboration with the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, she recorded works by Harald Genzmer, Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari and Richard Strauss. Berlin Classics released a recording with piano concertos by Clara Schumann and Ludwig van Beethoven, performed by Ragna Schirmer and the Staatskapelle Halle.

Her work dedicated on Charles Koechlin’s music with the Sinfonieorchester Basel and the Württembergische Philharmonie was praised by the press (Choc Classica, Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik …)

In recognition of her achievements in French musical life and representing French culture abroad, Ariane Matiakh was awarded “Officier de l’Ordre des Arts des Lettres” in 2022.