Manuel Oswald is the conductor of the Stadtorchester Luzern, the Orchesterverein Nidwalden, and the Philharmonisches Orchester Riehen. Until 2021, chamber music was his primary focus. As a prizewinner of major international string quartet competitions, including the ARD Competition in Munich, his career has taken him to stages worldwide. He studied with Rainer Schmidt (violin) and the Hagen Quartet (string quartet) and has served as a guest lecturer for chamber music at the Hochschule Luzern – Musik and as a lecturer for string quartet at the Hochschule für Musik Basel (FHNW). Numerous recordings with Sony, CPO, and Genuin document his artistic work.
Since 2021, he has devoted himself entirely to orchestral conducting and completed a MAS in Conducting at the ZHdK under Prof. Johannes Schlaefli. A concert, for him, is more than just a performance – it is an experience meant to leave a lasting impact on the audience. With great passion, he curates programs that open up new perspectives on music and actively engage listeners in the concert experience. His projects are often interactive, immersive, and philosophically inspired. For instance, he initiated a concert at the KKL Luzern with philosopher Yves Bossart, exploring the question of how we, as a society and as individuals, deal with crises – both personally and politically.
Another example is his Winterreise project, where the audience embarks on their own winter hike before the concert, allowing them to engage with the theme of resilience and experience the existential depth of Schubert’s music in Hans Zender’s arrangement firsthand. With the format “Feeling Music”, he creates concert evenings that guide listeners step by step toward not just hearing music but deeply feeling it.
He developed his keen sense for innovative concepts as co-artistic director of the Monuments Musicaux (momu) chamber music festival, known for its unconventional programs and artistic experiments. His mission remains to make music a vivid and meaningful experience – building a bridge between sound, emotion, and reflection.