Axel Hiller was born in 1989 in Salzburg, and studied business administration, musicology and music management in Vienna. He gained his first professional experiences with organizations including the Austrian Cultural Forum Washington D.C., the Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester and the Grafenegg Festival.
From 2013 to 2020 he was a member of the concert department of the Salzburg Festival, going on to take over the artistic planning and artistic administration of the Vienna Symphony Orchestra from 2020 to 2025. As a central musical institution of the city of Vienna, the orchestra plays a key role in the concert programmes at the Musikverein, the Vienna Konzerthaus and the Theater an der Wien, and regularly appears at the Bregenz Festival. Under his direction, various new formats were developed to reach new audiences.
In May 2025 Axel Hiller takes over the position of director of the concert and media department of the Salzburg Festival. From 2025 he is also a jury member of the Herbert von Karajan Young Conductors Award.
