Conductor Stefan Soltesz was born in Hungary in 1949 and moved as a child to Vienna. He studied conducting with Hans Swarowsky at the Vienna Academy of Music, where he also had training in composition and piano. His artistic career was launched in 1971, as conductor at the Theater an der Wien, followed by engagements as coach and conductor at the Vienna State Opera (1973-1983) and as guest conductor at the Opera House in Graz (1979-1981). During three editions of the Salzburg Festival, in 1978, 1979 and 1983, he worked as a musical assistant to Karl Böhm, Christoph von Dohnnyi and Herbert von Karajan. 

Stefan Soltesz held the position of regular conductor at the Hamburg State Opera (1983-1985) and at the Deutsche Oper Berlin (1985-1997). He served as general music director of the State Theatre of Brunswick from 1988-1993 and as chief conductor of the Flemish Opera in Antwerp and Ghent from 1992-1997. 
Since 1997, he has served as the general music director of the Essener Philharmoniker and as artistic director of the Essen opera house Aalto Theater. This term expired in 2013. 

Stefan Soltesz is a frequent guest conductor at the Vienna State Opera and at the major opera houses of Germany, for instance in Berlin, Dresden, Hamburg and Munich. He also appears at the Netherlands Opera Amsterdam, the Bilbao Opera, the Paris Opéra, the Royal Opera House Covent Garden in London, the Teatro Bellini in Catania, the Teatro Coln in Buenos Aires, the Washington and San Francisco opera houses, the Zürich Opera, Grand Théâtre de Genève, Niki-Kai Opera Tokyo, Teatro dell’ Opera Roma and Hungarian State Opera in Budapest and at the festivals in Montpellier, Aix-en-Provence, Baden-Baden and Savonlinna (Finland). 

Stefan Soltesz has led broadcast and concert performances in Berlin, Dresden, Genoa, Hanover, Hamburg, Milan, Munich, Paris, Rome, Turin, Nagoya, Budapest and Vienna. His discography includes operas by Giacomo Puccini, Giuseppe Gazzaniga and Alexander von Zemlinsky, as well as various symphonic works. 

His recent recording of music by Alban Berg and Hans Werner Henze won a Grammy nomination as well as an ICMA nomination. His Salome from the Baden-Baden festival was published as DVD. 

During Stefan Soltesz’ term in Essen the Aalto Theater was chosen ‘Opera House of the year’ in 2008, the Essener Philharmoniker ‘Orchestra of the year’ in 2003 as well as in 2008 by an independent jury of the magazine Opernwelt. Stefan Soltesz was conferred the honorary title ‘Citizen of the Ruhr District’ in 2009, in appreciation of his service to the Essen metropolitan area. In 2010, the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia awarded him the title Professor honoris causa. In 2012 he was appointed as honorary conductor of the State Orchestra Braunschweig.