Karl-Heinz Steffens

Principal Conductor and Artistic Director of the Norrköping Symphony Orchestra.    

In his fourth season as Principal Conductor and Artistic Director of the Norrköping Symphony Orchestra, the German Karl-Heinz Steffens is recognised as a conductor of great prestige in both the symphonic and operatic worlds. In recent seasons he has worked with ensembles such as the Bavarian Radio Symphony, Berlin Philharmonic, Helsinki Philharmonic, Israel Philharmonic, Munich Philharmonic, Orchestre National de Lyon, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, Toronto Symphony and Zurich Tonhalle, as well as with the Radio Symphony Orchestras of Berlin, Cologne, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Hannover, Leipzig and Stuttgart. He is also a frequent visitor to the UK, where he has performed on multiple occasions with the Philharmonia Orchestra, with whom he conducted a Brahms cycle, as well as with the BBC Symphony Orchestras of Scotland, Bournemouth and the City of Birmingham, and the Hallé Orchestra. 

Steffens has performed several times at the Teatro alla Scala, conducting performances of Cosi fan Tutte, Don Giovanni and Götterdämmerung, and has been a regular guest at the Berlin Staatsoper. He conducted the Norwegian premiere of Pelléas et Mélisande at the Norwegian National Opera, where he has also conducted Così fan tutte, Fidelio and Calixto Bieito's production of Tosca.    

Prior to his conducting career, Steffens was a highly respected solo clarinettist who also held various orchestral positions, culminating in successive posts as Principal Clarinet in the Bavarian Radio and Berlin Philharmonic orchestras.