“The success of the whole owed in large measure to the uncommonly precise, yet never affected gestures of Michael Alexander Willens.”
Biography
Michael Alexander Willens has established an international reputation as conductor of the Kölner Akademie, one of Europe’s leading period-instrument orchestras dedicated not only to the core Classical and Romantic repertoire, but also to the rediscovery and revival of unjustly neglected musical treasures from the seventeenth to the twentieth centuries. Under his artistic direction, the ensemble has developed a distinctive profile through historically informed performances, innovative programming and pioneering recordings of rarely performed repertoire.
Willens’ extensive discography of more than 100 recordings has garnered wide critical acclaim and numerous international distinctions. Among his most notable achievements are the recording of Beethoven’s piano concertos (2020) and the recording of Carl Maria von Weber’s complete works for piano and orchestra (2021) with Ronald Brautigam, which received the prestigious German Record Critics’ Award (Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik), as well as his 2025 recording of Johann Heinrich Rolle’s Sinfonias and Harpsichord Concertos with Michael Borgstede, was also honoured with the same distinction. In recognition of his exceptional contribution to the interpretation and promotion of Baroque repertoire, Willens was awarded the prestigious Telemann Prize in 2026.
With the Kölner Akademie, Willens has appeared extensively throughout Europe, North and South America, Latin America and Asia, performing at leading festivals and concert venues. He has collaborated with renowned artists including Carolyn Sampson, Avi Avital, Albrecht Mayer, and Pieter Wispelwey.
Recent recording releases include Bach’s Lutheran Masses for Pentatone and Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto with Nicolas Baldeyrou for Alpha Classics. Upcoming releases feature he world premiere recording of Joseph Wölfl’s operetta Das Milchmädchen for CPO and Joseph Haydn’s dramatic “Sturm und Drang” symphonies (Nos 44. 45 & 49) for Pentatone.
Future projects continue Willens’ commitment to uncovering overlooked repertoire and expanding the orchestral canon, including recordings with a selection of Georg Frederic Händel’s Cannons Anthems for Pentatone and symphonies by the Bohemian Romantic composer Johann Wenzel Kalliwoda for CPO.
Michael Alexander Willens has guest conducted orchestras in Germany, Israel, the Netherlands, France, Norway, Poland and Brazil.
Recordings
In addition to the standard repertoire, Michael Alexander Willens is dedicated to performing works by lesser-known contemporary American composers and has conducted several world premières, many of which have been broadcast live or filmed for television.
He is also keenly interested in re-discovering music from the past and has released over 100 world premiere recordings featuring lesser-known composers from the baroque, (Girolamo Abos, Johann Friedrich Agricola, Gottfried August Homilius, Johann Heinrich Rolle and others) classical (Carl Friedrich Abel, Ernst Wilhelm Wolf, Carl Philipp Stamitz, Wenceslas Pichl and others) and romantic (Anton Eberl, Bernhard Crusell, Johann Wenzel Kalliwoda, Sigismund Ritter von Neukomm, and others) repertoire for CPO, ARS Produktion, Capriccio and Hänssler Classic.
Several of these recordings have been nominated and given awards. They have all received outstanding international reviews.
He has also recorded full cycles of Mozart, Beethoven, Wilms and Weber piano concertos as well the complete works for solo piano and orchestra by Felix Mendelssohn- Bartholdy with Ronald Brautigam for BIS. For the Deutsche Grammophon label he recorded a set of Bach chorales for their Bach 333 box set.
Recent releases
See all releases
Baroque
Classical
Romantic
Reviews
“Willens achieves an impeccably stylish and enjoyable performance.”
(Gramophone)
“…conductor Michael Alexander Willens exploits every bar of the score to fullest expressive effect.”
(Fanfare)
,,Kanonisches und Raritäten mit der Kölner Akademie”
“Die hervorragend aufgelegten, wunderbar untereinander harmonierenden Musiker unter Michael Alexander Willens gestisch immer auf Ausdruck trimmender Leitung brachten so viel Musizierfreude und durchgehende Spannung mit,“
Paul Ignaz Liechtenauer 4 Masses op.2
““Die Kölner Akademie macht unter Michael Alexander Willens alles richtig. Da gibt es nichts zu kritisieren! “
Johann Nikolaus Forkel 4 Piano concertos
” Der Orchesterklang der Kölner Akademie bleibt stets durchsichtig, Michael Alexander Willens lässt die Musik sehr leichtfüßig vortragen….”
Johannes Bernardus Van Bree: Violin Concerto – Fantasy – Overtures
“So zieht uns Willens binnen kürzester Zeit in seinen Bann –….”
Emilie Mayer: Piano concerto, Overtures
“Michael Alexander Willens arbeitet mit der Kölner Akademie die scharfen Kontraste und die häufigen Farbwechsel zwischen Streichern und Bläsern klar heraus,”
CPE Bach: Magnificat
“Michael Alexander Willens‘ Kölner Akademie bietet ein hochdifferenziertes, präzis ausgearbeitetes Klangerlebnis und schlägt in echter kammerorchestraler Besetzung die interpretatorisch feine Klinge.”
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Overtures
“Conductor Michael Alexander Willens projects uplift and energy within the music, along with fleet-footed drive.”
Jacques Offenbach: Le Violoneux, Le 66
„Die Kölner Akademie unter Michael Alexander Willens hat schon vor ein paar Jahren mit dem Doppel Pomme d’Api – Sur un vulcan ihre hohe Offenbach-Kompetenz unter Beweis gestellt.“
Media
“La Speranza” baroque music from Italy
Watch the trailer on YouTube
Ludwig van Beethoven: Piano concerto no. 1
Watch the concert on YouTube
