Martin Raina has been appointed as the new music director of the Philharmonie Luxembourg
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Martin Rajna is a conductor who is not yet 30, but has already achieved significant heights in the music world. At 27, he was appointed Principal Conductor of the Hungarian National Opera, and now, in 2026, he will take up the post of Music Director of the Philharmonie Luxembourg.
Despite this early success, Raina does not consider himself a "prodigy". He is convinced that talent is the result of hard work: "I don't believe in pure talent, it's more important to work hard.
Music came into his life very early. According to Raina himself, his first encounter with classical art was when he was 3-4 years old. His grandmother had a piano and she noticed her grandson's interest, so she decided to teach him to play.
At the age of 14, he left his native village and entered the Budapest Conservatory, where he concentrated on studying piano and composition. At 17, he stepped onto the conducting podium for the first time, leading an ensemble of eight musicians. It was a work called Octandre by Edgar Varèse, and Raina himself admits that it proved too challenging for so early in his career. Nevertheless, the experience proved momentous: he realised that conducting was his calling.
In November 2024, Martin Raina made his first appearance in Luxembourg, conducting two concerts in Ettelbruck and the Philharmonie Luxembourg. A mutual liking between the orchestra and the maestro was instantaneous, and just a few months later Raina signed a contract under which he will lead the orchestra in September 2026.
He himself still can't say exactly what makes him attractive to orchestras. "On stage, I don't think about my appearance and I don't feel the need to portray anything," he noted in an interview with L'Essentiel. But he clearly likes the atmosphere of the Luxembourg orchestra and is looking forward to starting work.
It is too early to talk about specific changes in the repertoire, but Raina is known for his love of combining classical and contemporary music. His conducting style is characterised by a sense of drama, attention to detail and energy that makes each performance vivid and memorable.
