Sylvain Cambreling (born 2 July 1948 in
Amiens
Amiens (English: or ; ; pcd, Anmien, or ) is a city and commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme department in the region of Hauts-de-France. In 2021, the population of ...
, France) is a French
conductor
Conductor or conduction may refer to:
Music
* Conductor (music), a person who leads a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra.
* ''Conductor'' (album), an album by indie rock band The Comas
* Conduction, a type of structured free improvisation ...
.
Biography
Trained as a
trombone
The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrat ...
player, Cambreling studied at the
Paris Conservatoire
The Conservatoire de Paris (), also known as the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue ...
. He joined l'
Orchestre Symphonique de Lyon (OSL) as a trombonist in 1971. In 1974, he took second prize in the
International Besançon Competition for Young Conductors. His conducting debut was with the OSL in 1975, leading
Robert Schumann
Robert Schumann (; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and influential music critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Schumann left the study of law, intending to pursue a career a ...
's ''Scenes from Goethe's Faust''. At the invitation of
Pierre Boulez
Pierre Louis Joseph Boulez (; 26 March 1925 – 5 January 2016) was a French composer, conductor and writer, and the founder of several musical institutions. He was one of the dominant figures of post-war Western classical music.
Born in Mon ...
, he began to guest-conduct the
Ensemble Intercontemporain
The Ensemble intercontemporain (EIC) is a French music ensemble, based in Paris, that is dedicated to contemporary music. Pierre Boulez founded the EIC in 1976 for this purpose, the first permanent organization of its type in the world.
Organi ...
regularly from 1976.
Cambreling was the music director of the
Théâtre de la Monnaie, Brussels from 1981 to 1991, during
Gerard Mortier's tenure. He served as artistic director and general music director of the
Frankfurt Opera from 1993 to 1997. During his Frankfurt tenure, he encountered controversy over proposed budget cuts from the city of
Frankfurt
Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , " Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its ...
and the director for opera and ballet, Martin Steinhoff. From 1997 to 2004, he served as principal guest conductor of
Klangforum Wien, with whom he premiered
Luciano Berio
Luciano Berio (24 October 1925 – 27 May 2003) was an Italian composer noted for his experimental work (in particular his 1968 composition ''Sinfonia'' and his series of virtuosic solo pieces titled '' Sequenza''), and for his pioneering wo ...
's final opera,
Cronaca del luogo
''Cronaca del luogo'' (''Chronicle of the Place'') is an opera by Luciano Berio. The Italian libretto was compiled by his wife, Talia Pecker Berio, incorporating excerpts from Rabbinic literature and the poetry of Paul Celan and Marina Tsvetayeva ...
. He also made several commercial recordings with Klangforum Wien. He was a frequent conductor at the
Opéra National de Paris
The Paris Opera (, ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be k ...
during Mortier's tenure there, from 2004 to 2009, holding the title of "principal conductor" for the first season of that duration, a title shared with six other conductors.
From 1999 to 2011, Cambreling was chief conductor of the
SWR Sinfonieorchester Baden-Baden und Freiburg, and made several commercial recordings with the orchestra. In April 2010, he was named ''Generalmusikdirektor'' (GMD) of the
Stuttgart State Opera
The Staatsoper Stuttgart (Stuttgart State Opera) is a German opera company based in Stuttgart, the capital of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The Staatsorchester Stuttgart serves as its resident orchestra.
History
Performances of operas, ballet ...
, effective with the 2012–2013 season. He concluded his Stuttgart tenure at the close of the 2017–2018 season. Cambreling had been offered the post of chief conductor of the newly-formed
SWR Symphonieorchester
The SWR Symphonieorchester (Southwest German Radio Symphony Orchestra) is a radio orchestra affiliated with the ''Südwestrundfunk'' (Southwest German Radio) public broadcasting network. Formed in 2016, the orchestra is administratively based in S ...
, but declined on principle, in protest at the merger of the two precursor orchestras into the new ensemble. In February 2018, the
Symphoniker Hamburg announced the appointment of Cambreling as its next chief conductor, effective with the 2018–2019 season. In June 2022, the ''Symphoniker Hamburg'' announced the extension of Cambreling's contract through the summer of 2028.
Outside of Europe, Cambreling became principal conductor of the
Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra The is a Japanese symphony orchestra administratively based in Tokyo. The orchestra primarily performs concerts in Tokyo at the Suntory Hall, but also gives concerts at the Tokyo Opera City Concert Hall. The orchestra also performs in Yokohama at ...
in April 2010, with an initial contract of 3 years. He concluded his tenure as principal conductor on 31 March 2019,
and now has the title of conductor laureate of the orchestra.
References
External links
Official Sylvain Cambreling websiteHazard Chase Artists page on Sylvain Cambreling 16 November 1998
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cambreling, Sylvain
Music directors (opera)
1948 births
Living people
People from Amiens
Conservatoire de Paris alumni
École Normale de Musique de Paris alumni
Prize-winners of the International Besançon Competition for Young Conductors
French male conductors (music)
20th-century French conductors (music)
21st-century French conductors (music)
20th-century French male musicians
21st-century French male musicians