Karl-Heinz Steffens

Karl-Heinz Steffens
Born (1961-11-28) 28 November 1961 (age 63)
Trier, Germany
OccupationConductor
InstrumentClarinet

Karl-Heinz Steffens (born 28 November 1961) is a German clarinetist and conductor.

Biography

Steffens studied clarinet from 1982 to 1985 at the State University of Music and Performing Arts Stuttgart with Ulf Rodenhäuser. His first professional engagement was as a clarinetist at the Staatstheater Kassel. He subsequently was principal clarinetist in the orchestra of Oper Frankfurt (1985–1989), in the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra (1989–1996), and the Berlin Philharmonic (2001–2007), in addition to maintaining a solo career.

From 2009 to 2018, Steffens was music director of the Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz in Ludwigshafen.[1] Steffens and the orchestra recorded commercially for the Capriccio label.[2][3] During his tenure, the orchestra received such honours as the ECHO[4] award for Best Orchestra in 2015[4] for their recording of works by Bernd Alois Zimmermann.

Steffens was music director of the Norwegian National Opera and Ballet from 2016[5] to 2018. In 2017, Steffens announced his intention to stand down early from the Den Norske Opera and Ballet post, owing to conflicts with then-incoming artistic director Annilese Miskimmon.[6] He concluded his tenure with Den Norske Opera and Ballet in 2018.

In February 2019, the Prague State Opera announced the appointment of Steffens as its next music director, effective with the 2019–2020 season.[7] In October 2019, the Norrköping Symphony Orchestra announced the appointment of Steffens as its next principal conductor and artistic advisor, effective with the 2020–2021 season.[8]

References

  1. ^ "Karl-Heinz Steffens, chief conductor". Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz. Archived from the original on 2015-12-22. Retrieved 2009-08-01.
  2. ^ Andrew Clements (2014-09-04). "Zimmermann: Alagoana; Symphony in One Movement; Photoptosis; Stille und Umkehr CD review – taut and enigmatic". The Guardian. Retrieved 2024-06-10.
  3. ^ Andrew Clements (2015-11-11). "Ginastera: Variaciones Concertantes; Ollantay; Bomarzo Suite, etc review – a timely portrait". The Guardian. Retrieved 2024-06-10.
  4. ^ a b "Echo Klassik Prize Winners 2015 Ensemble/Orchestra of the Year". Bundesverband Musikindustrie e.V. Retrieved 2015-10-18.
  5. ^ "Press release from the Norwegian National Opera & Ballet" (PDF). The Norwegian National Opera & Ballet. Retrieved 2015-12-11.
  6. ^ Pedja Kalajdzic (2017-04-25). "Musikksjefen i Operaen ønsker ikke å fortsette: – Umulig å samarbeide med den nye operasjefen". Norsk Rijksringkasting. Retrieved 2020-01-11.
  7. ^ Vojtech Babka (2020-01-02). "Karl-Heinz Steffens: Momentálně jsem šťastný člověk!". Opera Plus. Retrieved 2020-01-11.
  8. ^ "Karl-Heinz Steffens new Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor at SON" (Press release). Norrköping Symphony Orchestra. 3 October 2019. Retrieved 2020-01-07.
Cultural offices
Preceded by
Ari Rasilainen
 Chief Conductor, Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz
2009–2018 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
John Fiore
 Music Director, Norwegian National Opera and Ballet
2016–2018 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
Andreas Sebastian Weiser
 Music Director, Prague State Opera
2019–present 		Succeeded by
incumbent
Preceded by Principal Conductor, Norrköping Symphony Orchestra
2020–present 		Succeeded by
incumbent