Maestro Stefan Sanderling has been given the exciting task of conducting the final round of the Cleveland International Piano Competition, showcasing the artistry of the four finalists with the incomparable Cleveland Orchestra.
He looks forward to the responsibility with considerable enthusiasm. “It is always a great pleasure to work with young interesting musicians, especially when they are finalists of such a prestigious competition as the Cleveland Piano Competition,” Maestro Sanderling wrote via email. “I have had the pleasure of making music together with several former winners of this competition and have always enjoyed and admired their excellent musicianship.”
As Music Director of The Florida Orchestra and Principal Conductor of the Toledo Symphony Orchestra, Maestro Sanderling is definitely up to the challenge. One of the leading German conductors of his generation, Sanderling made his U.S. debut at the 1989 Tanglewood Music Festival. Since then he has led such prestigious U.S. orchestras as the Baltimore Symphony, Colorado Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the San Francisco Symphony.
Worldwide guest conducting appearances include the Bamberg Symphony, Berliner Sinfonie Orchester, Berliner Staatskapelle, Bournemouth Symphony, London Philharmonic, London Symphony, Mozarteum Orchestra (Salzburg), NDR Symphony Orchestra Hamburg, NTO (Vienna), Philharmonia Orchestra London, Prague Symphony, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Royal Philharmonic London, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, St. Petersburg Philharmonic, Staatskapelle Dresden, and the Vienna Radio Symphony. Mr. Sanderling has also guest conducted at both the Deutsche Oper and Komische Oper in Berlin. He made debuts in Australia with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and in Japan with the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra. His highly successful debut with the NHK Symphony of Tokyo has resulted in regular appearances with that orchestra both in Tokyo and throughout Japan.
Also an active recording artist, Stefan Sanderling made his first recording on the Sony Classics label with the London Symphony Orchestra. Three CDs with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra have also been released featuring symphonies by Haydn and Mendelssohn. For Naxos, he has recorded the complete Tchaikovsky Orchestral Suites and Stravinsky’s ballet Pulcinella, as well as a disc of the tone poems and symphonies of Honegger.
Born in East Berlin in 1964, the son of legendary conductor Kurt Sanderling, Mr. Sanderling studied musicology at the University of Halle and conducting at the conservatory in Leipzig before leaving East Germany to continue his studies in Los Angeles at the University of Southern California. After the fall of the iron curtain, he returned to Germany where his career ascended rapidly. As one of the country’s youngest chief conductors, Mr. Sanderling first held this position at the Brandenburgische Philharmonie and the Potsdam Opera in 1990. After five years, he then went on to become Music Director and Chief Conductor of the Philharmonic Orchestra and Staatstheater in Mainz until 2001. Between 1997 and 2004, he also served as music director of the Orchestre de Bretagne in France.