was born in Copenhagen, was music director of the Royal Orchestra and the Royal Opera in Copenhagen from 2000-2011. In September 2010, he took over the position of Chief Conductor of the Netherlands Radio Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra. He was also Chief Conductor of the Berlin Symphony Orchestra (now Konzerthausorchester), the Netherlands Radio Kamer Filharmonie and Principal Guest Conductor of the Stuttgart State Theatre, La Monnaie, the Danish National Radio Symphony and the Royal Flanders Philharmonic. From 2015 to 2023 he was Chief Conductor of the Opéra Orchestre National de Montpellier, since 2022 he has been Deputy Conductor of the Belgian National Orchestra and since September 2025 Principal Guest Conductor of the Deutsche Radio Philharmonie. Michael Schønwandt has conducted an extensive opera repertoire at the world's leading opera houses, including the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, the Vienna State Opera, the Opéra National de Paris, the Deutsche Oper Berlin and the Bayreuth Festspielhaus. He has a busy concert schedule and has worked with all the major European orchestras. He is considered one of the leading exponents of the music of Carl Nielsen and has recorded all of his symphonies and concertos as well as the complete symphonies of Niels Gade and Weyse. His interest in contemporary music led him to conduct many world premieres by Danish composers. Other world premieres include Henze's Third Violin Concerto, György Kurtág's Concertante and Poul Ruders' operas Dancer in the Dark and The Handmaid's Tale.