About Karajan Institute

Matthias Röder is an award-winning music and technology expert who joined the Karajan Institute from Harvard University in 2011. As managing director, Dr. Röder is responsible for the overall vision and strategy of the Institute as well as the global brand of Herbert von Karajan. Dr. Röder currently serves as a board member of the Karajan Foundation and is also a member of the board of trustees of the International Mozarteum Foundation Salzburg. Dr. Röder has won numerous prizes and accolades for his work, including most recently, the “Effie Bronze” for his leadership role in reconstructing Beethoven’s 10th Symphony with artificial intelligence. Dr. Röder is a sought-after speaker and lecturer who has taught at Harvard University, the Change & Innovation Management Program at University of St. Gall, and Salzburg University. He holds a PhD in music from Harvard University and is an alumnus of the Mozarteum University Salzburg. Together with his wife, Seda Röder, Dr. Röder co-founded the Sonophilia Foundation, a non-profit that supports and promotes the scientific study of creativity.

Henry Ladewig has been working for the Karajan Institute since 2007. Initially, he supported the Institute and its partners as project controller for the worldwide activities for the Karajan Year 2008. Today, Henry Ladewig is the Karajan Institute’s Commercial Director/CFO and the central contact person for all commercial agendas, as well as an expert in licensing and royalties. In recent years, his passion for technology has been instrumental in digitizing and automating the Institute’s processes and workflows.

Henry Ladewig has a classical piano education, holds an associate degree in copyrights management and music licensing, as well as a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration. In his spare time, Henry Ladewig produces and releases music through his own music label.

Pia Bernauer joined the Karajan Institute in 2012 as Head of the Karajan Archive. Her particular focus lies on the digitization of all archive materials and the development of the Karajan recording & concert database. Pia’s work has been essential in making Herbert von Karajan’s life and work digitally accessible to millions of people worldwide for the first time. In Spin On Classical Music, Pia presented hand-picked Karajan tracks along with interesting stories from the archive via social media and on streaming services.

Pia Bernauer holds a Master’s degree in musicology as well as a Bachelor of Arts in international marketing.

Dr. Martin Aigner is a computer scientist, software architect, and data analyst, responsible for the digital transformation of the Karajan Institute and Karajan Archive since 2017. He is also dedicated to combining computer aided analysis methods to scientific studies in musicology.

Martin studied computer science in Salzburg and Zurich, graduated from Prof. Kirsch’s Computational Systems Group in 2017, and published various articles on performance analysis.

Martin is also a musician, writing and performing with the contemporary rock outfits Bumbatschak and Inside the Sun.