Karl-Heinz Steffens

Now in his fifth season as Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor of the Norrköping Symphony Orchestra, German conductor Karl-Heinz Steffens is recognized as a conductor of great distinction in both the symphonic and operatic worlds. Recent highlights include his Southern Hemisphere debut with the Auckland Philharmonia in May 2024, leading to further invitations in the 2024/25 season, and leading the Norrköping Symphony Orchestra on their 2024 Summer European tour, including their debut performance at Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw.

In great demand as a guest conductor, recent seasons have seen Steffens work with ensembles such as the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Berliner Philharmoniker, Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Münchner Philharmoniker, Orchestre National de Lyon, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, Toronto Symphony Orchestra and Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, and with the Radio Symphony Orchestras of Berlin, Cologne, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Hannover, Leipzig and Stuttgart. He is also a frequent visitor to the UK, making multiple appearances with the Philharmonia with whom he conducted a Brahms cycle in the Royal Festival Hall, as well as the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and the Hallé.

He recently relinquished his post as Music Director at the Prague State Opera, where productions included “Der fliegende Holländer” and Schreker’s “Der ferne Klang”, amongst others. During his time there he initiated a four-year Musica non Grata series, dedicated to “unwelcome music” written by composers who fell victim to the despotism of the 20th-century totalitarian regimes; the series included a festival celebrating the 150th anniversary of Alexander Zemlinsky.

Elsewhere in the opera house, Steffens has appeared several times at the Teatro alla Scala leading performances of “Cosi fan Tutte”, “Don Giovanni” and “Götterdämmerung”, and has been regularly invited to the Berlin Staatsoper Unter den Linden. He led the Norwegian premiere of “Pelléas et Mélisande” at the Norwegian National Opera & Ballet where he has also conducted “Così fan tutte”, “Fidelio” and Calixto Bieito’s production of “Tosca”.

In his previous position as Music Director of the Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz, he and the orchestra were honoured with many accolades; they received the ECHO award for Best Orchestra in 2015 for their recording of works by Bernd Alois Zimmermann and were nominated prize-winners of the Best Concert Programme of the Season by the Deutscher Musikverlegerverband (German Music Publishers’ Association) in 2016/17. Their recording of works by George Antheil, an addition to their extensive Modern Times series featuring an array of 20th century composers, was designated Concert Recording of the Year by the Opus Klassik awards.

Prior to his conducting career, Steffens was a highly respected solo clarinettist who also held several orchestral positions culminating in the successive posts of Principal Clarinet with the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks and the Berliner Philharmoniker. Steffens has recently been awarded the Bundesverdienstkreuz (The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany) for his services to music.