Karl-Heinz Steffens

Karl-Heinz Steffens
Born (1961-11-28) 28 November 1961
Trier, Germany
Occupation(s) clarinettist, conductor
Instruments Clarinet
Website www.karlheinzsteffens.com

Karl-Heinz Steffens (born 28 November 1961) is a German clarinettist and conductor. He is the Chief Conductor and Music Director of the Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz (German State Philharmonic Orchestra of Rhineland-Palatinate).[1] On the 1st of August 2016 Steffens additionally took up his new position as Music Director of the Den Norske Opera & Ballett.[2]

Career

Steffens studied clarinet with Ulf Rodenhäuser at the State University of Music and Performing Arts Stuttgart (1982-1985).[3] After his first engagement as clarinettist at the Staatstheater Kassel, Steffens became one of the world’s most highly regarded instrumentalists serving as Principal Clarinet at Frankfurt Opera (1985-1989), of the Bavarian Radio Symphony (1989-1996) and the Berlin Philharmonic (2001-2007) as well as maintaining an active solo career.[3] From 1996 to 1999 he taught at the University of Music and Drama Hanover.[3] In 2001 he was appointed Professor in Clarinet by the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler Berlin where he taught until 2008.[3]

In 2007, Steffens relinquished his post as Principal Clarinet of the Berlin Philharmonic[4] and his international solo career to devote himself to conducting and to take up the position as General Music Director of the Staatskapelle and Opera Halle (2007-2013).[5] At the start of the 2009-10 season, he took up a further appointment as Music Director of the Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz in Ludwigshafen.[1]

Recent seasons have seen his debuts with the Bavarian State Orchestra, Berlin Philharmonic,[6] Munich Philharmonic, Vienna Symphony,[7] Philharmonia Orchestra London, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Danish Radio, Helsinki Philharmonic and Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra. Steffens regularly appears with orchestras such as the City of Birmingham Symphony, the Bournemouth Symphony, and the Hallé in the UK, the Bamberg Symphony, Dresden Philharmonic, and the Radio Symphony orchestras of Berlin, Cologne, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Leipzig and Stuttgart. This season Karl-Heinz Steffens made his debuts with the Teatro Regio in Torino, the Gulbenkian Orchestra in Lisbon, the orchestra of Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in Florence, the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra [8] in Munich, and returned to the Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte Carlo and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France.

Steffens is also a prolific conductor of opera. At the invitation of Daniel Barenboim, Steffens made his debut in 2008 at the Berlin Staatsoper Unter den Linden with performances of Fidelio, leading to regular annual appearances there with performances of Tosca, La Traviata, The Bartered Bride and Ariadne auf Naxos.[9]

In January 2012, Steffens made his debut at La Scala Milan conducting Don Giovanni. This production he also conducted at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow. In the following years Steffens returned to Milan with Götterdämmerung and Cosi fan tutte.

In spring 2013, Steffens’ East-West German music theatre project of Wagner’s Ring Cycle (2010-2013)[10] in cooperation with Hansgünther Heyme successfully culminated in performing the complete cycle in both Halle and Ludwigshafen.

End of May 2016, Steffens made his debut performance at the Zürich Opera House with Cosi fan tutte.[11]

Alongside extensive cycles of the symphonies by Beethoven, Schubert and Bruckner, especially his CD recordings with the Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz under the motto “Modern Times”[12] are internationally acclaimed. For the recording of the most important orchestral works by Bernd Alois Zimmermann[13] his orchestra was awarded the ECHO Klassik 2015[14] as “Ensemble/Orchestra of the Year”[14] by the Deutsche Phono-Akademie.

References

  1. 1 2 "Karl-Heinz Steffens, chief conductor". Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz. Retrieved 2009-08-01.
  2. ↑ "Press release from the Norwegian National Opera & Ballet" (PDF). The Norwegian National Opera & Ballet. Retrieved 2015-12-11.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Karl-Heinz Steffens, conductor". The Israeli Opera Tel-Aviv-Yafo. Retrieved 2009-08-06.
  4. ↑ "Principal Clarinet of the Berlin Philharmonic". Karl-Heinz Steffens. Retrieved 2015-12-11.
  5. ↑ "General Music Director of the Staatskapelle and Opera Halle". Karl-Heinz Steffens. Retrieved 2015-12-11.
  6. ↑ "Berlin Philharmonic: Karl-Heinz Steffens conducts Beethoven, Zimmermann and Schubert". Berlin Philharmonic Digital Concert Hall. Retrieved 2013-10-11.
  7. ↑ "Poesie und Präzision: Karl-Heinz Steffens debütiert am Pult der Wiener Symphoniker im Musikverein". Magazin der Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in Wien. Retrieved 2014-12-14.
  8. ↑ "BRSO: Karl-Heinz Steffens steps in for Franz Welser-Möst". BRSO. Retrieved 2016-05-05.
  9. ↑ "Staatsoper im Schiller Theater: Karl-Heinz Steffens conducts Ariadne auf Naxos". Staatsoper im Schiller Theater. Retrieved 2015-12-14.
  10. ↑ Ring2013 - on Facebook
  11. ↑ "Zürich Opera House: Karl-Heinz Steffens will debut with Cosi fan tutte at Zürich Opera House". Zürich Opera House. Retrieved 2015-12-14.
  12. ↑ "MODERN TIMES Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz Karl-Heinz Steffens". Capriccio, Deutschlandradio Kultur, Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz. Retrieved 2014-08-25.
  13. ↑ "Bernd Alois Zimmermann Orchestral Pieces Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz Karl-Heinz Steffens". Capriccio, Deutschlandradio Kultur, Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz. Retrieved 2014-08-25.
  14. 1 2 "Echo Klassik Prize Winners 2015 Ensemble/Orchestra of the Year". Bundesverband Musikindustrie e.V. Retrieved 2015-10-18.
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