Russian-born conductor
Thomas Sanderling is closely associated with the music of
Dmitry Shostakovich. He has conducted a mixture of orchestras worldwide, generally to critical acclaim, and made a number of successful recordings. He has developed an equally respected reputation in opera, particularly for performances in the most important operatic centers in Germany, Austria, and Scandinavia. Despite his identity with
Shostakovich, his repertory is broad, encompassing
Mozart,
Beethoven,
Brahms,
Wagner, and
Dvorák, as well as moderns like Karl Weigl and Americans Menotti,
Barber, and
Tobias Picker.
Sanderling was born in Leningrad on October 2, 1942. His father, conductor
Kurt Sanderling, was forced to flee Germany in 1936. Young
Thomas studied first at the Leningrad Conservatory, then at the Hochschule für Musik in East Berlin. His first important post came at 24, when he was appointed director of the
Hallé Opera. Throughout his early career, he centered his activity mostly in East Berlin, often leading orchestras in Dresden and Leipzig.
In the 1970s he developed a friendship with the declining
Shostakovich, who presented
Sanderling with scores to his Thirteenth and Fourteenth symphonies.
Sanderling later led the German premieres of those controversial works.
After serving as guest conductor at the Berlin Staatskapelle (1978-1983), he began conducting in Western European opera houses, notably at the
Vienna State Opera, Deutsche Oper in Berlin, the Royal Danish Opera, and
Finnish National Opera. Now he also began branching out in his orchestral activity, conducting orchestras throughout Europe and the United States.
In 1992 he was appointed music director of Japan's Osaka Symphony Orchestra.
Sanderling's reputation grew as the new century approached, especially from critically successful recordings like his
Mahler Sixth Symphony on the Real Sound label, and the complete symphonies of
Albéric Magnard, released in 1999-2000 on BIS Records.
Sanderling's success in the recording studio continued with the acclaimed Chandos issue in 2000 of works by contemporary American composer
Steve Gerber, and in 2002 with a recording of the Karl Weigl Symphony No. 5 on BIS, which received a Cannes Classical Award in 2003, the conductor's second.
In 2004
Sanderling accepted the post of principal guest conductor of the
Russian National Philharmonic Orchestra. He was active in several festivals honoring
Shostakovich in 2006, and among his later recordings was a 2006 DG release of the rarely performed
Shostakovich work The Tale of the Priest and His Servant, Balda.
In 2007, he conducted with the
MDR Symphony Orchestra and the
Philharmonie and also managed to record the complete works of
Taneyev for Naxos.