"He is (...) cheeky, charismatic, enthusiastic about classical music", writes the Süddeutsche Zeitung about Malte Arkona. The three-time Echo Klassik award winner is nowadays one of the most sought-after music presenters in the German-speaking world. He is known to a wide audience as an actor, dubbing artist and TV presenter. As presenter of the popular shows "Tigerenten Club" and "Die beste Klasse Deutschlands", he has become popular with young and old alike. He proved that he is a true master of vocal acrobatics in the radio play for the ARD series "Babylon Berlin" and in the dubbing of the series "Modern Family" (Prof. Arvin Fennerman).
In regular live streams on SWR (SWR Symphonieorchester), NDR (NDR Radiophilharmonie) or from the Philharmonie Luxembourg (Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg) as well as presenting on Magenta TV (Rheingau Music Festival) or Medici TV (finale of "The Mahler Competition" of the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra), he combines his 20 years of television experience with the world of classical music.
"A delight for anyone who likes a quick wit." (Süddeutsche Zeitung about Malte Arkona)
At film music galas (e. g. with the Dresden Philharmonic) or open-air concerts with up to 35,000 spectators (e. g. for the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra) or chamber music with the Boulanger Trio in the Elbphilharmonie – he finds the right tone to familiarize the audience with the music.
Malte Arkona has also presented concerts with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, the WDR Funkhaus Orchestra, the Württemberg Chamber Orchestra and Concerto Köln. During his various engagements, he often meets the big stars of the scene, who not only tell him a lot of interesting facts about the music, but also like to give away very personal stories. For example, pianist Lang Lang told him what he does when he doesn't feel like practicing, maestro Lorin Maazel talked about his yoga sessions at the airport, Andris Nelsons raved about his martial arts exercises, and the Labèque sisters let him look into their sheet music, brightly marked with colors.
In 2024/25 Malte Arkona will continue his successful collaboration with the Berlin Radio
Symphony Orchestra, the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, the Munich Philharmonic, the NDR Radiophilharmonie, the SWR Symphony Orchestra, the Dresden Philharmonic, the Hamburg Symphony Orchestra, and the Georgian Chamber Orchestra Ingolstadt. Further guest appearances have taken him to the Cologne Philharmonie, the Essen Philharmonie, the festival CLASSIX Kempten and the Robert Schumann Hall in Düsseldorf. Together with the Dresden Philharmonic, he has created the new concert series "Best of Classics", which celebrates its premiere this season. In summer 2025, he will once again present the renowned open-air concert of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra "Klassik Airleben" under the direction of Andris Nelson.
In his versatile projects, Malte Arkona works with the "who's who" of the classical music industry, such as Andris Nelsons, Igor Levit, Simone Young, Cristian Mӑcelaru, Barbara Hannigan, Christian Tetzlaff, Daniel Hope, Joana Mallwitz, Patrick Hahn, Edgar Moreau, Claire Huangci, Tanja Tetzlaff, and Andrew Manze.
In 2020, Malte Arkona signed an exclusive contract with the Berlin Classics label (Edel Kultur). He recorded an unusual version of "Karneval der Tiere" for adults. In his own radio play series “Malte & Mezzo”, he slips into the role of the classical music explorer who experiences adventures in the world of music with his cheeky animal friend Mezzo. He presents well-known works and composers in his own words which are as amusing as rousing. Previous publications include: "Gruselige Bilder einer Ausstellung", "Auf Tour mit Mozart", "Eine Party mit Beethoven" und "Keine Nöte mit der Zauberflöte". The following also applies to his radio plays: they are not only interesting and worth listening to for children. "Malte & Mezzo" can be experienced live on stage again in the 2024/25 season. The adventure "Beethoven auf der Spur!" from the "Orchester-Detektive" series with the NDR Radiophilharmonie was released in 2020 in cooperation with NDR by Sony Classical.
In addition to developing new concert concepts for classical music, Malte Arkona also directed for the first time in 2021, both in a music video of the Dresden Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra and in several clips of the Dresden Philharmonic. In the 2023/24 season, this activity was also extended as an accompanying project to international concert tours of the Dresden Philharmonic. His podcast "MPhil with Malte" in collaboration with the Munich Philharmonic was also successfully launched in 2021.
Malte Arkona has held a teaching position (moderation for musicians) at the Hanns Eisler University of Music in Berlin since 2022.