Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla
Conductor · 1986– · Lithuania
Lithuanian conductor drawn to Shostakovich and living composers
In short
Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla is a conductor born in Lithuania in 1986. She became widely known as music director of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra in England, and she mixes the standard repertoire with newer music. She appears with the New York Philharmonic in January 2027.
On the podium
She often pairs familiar works with less usual ones, as in her New York programs. Listen for clear, transparent playing in Shostakovich's Fourteenth Symphony, a sparse piece for two singers and strings about death. The Britten sea pieces are vivid weather and water in sound. In the Haydn and Brahms program, expect lively, light-footed phrasing alongside the Adès, a modern symphony drawn from his opera.
Life
Born in Vilnius, she studied conducting in Graz, Leipzig and Zurich. She worked at the Salzburg Landestheater, then was assistant conductor at the Los Angeles Philharmonic under Gustavo Dudamel. She became music director of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra in 2016 and recorded for Deutsche Grammophon. She has guest conducted major orchestras in Europe and North America.
Written by OrchestraFinder, reviewed October 2026.