Michael Sanderling has been chief conductor of the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra since the 2021/2022 season. The appointment follows many years of successful collaboration, with the common aim of further developing the orchestra in the direction of late Romantic repertoire such as Bruckner, Mahler and Strauss. His second season on the podium with the orchestra offers highlights such as tours in Europe and Asia. In spring 2023, a Brahms cycle with the four symphonies and his "Fifth", the piano quartet orchestrated by Arnold Schoenberg, will also be released by Warner Classics.
Sanderling shares the stage with soloists such as Gautier Capucon, Francesco Piemontesi, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Martha Argerich, Elisabeth Leonskaja and Olga Peretjatko.
Guest engagements take Michael Sanderling to leading orchestras worldwide. In recent seasons he has appeared with the Berliner Philharmoniker, WDR Sinfonieorchester, SWR Symphonieorchester, Tonhalle- Orchester Zürich, Concertgebouworkest, Orchestre de Paris, NHK Symphony Orchestra and Toronto Symphony Orchestra. He enjoys a particularly close and regular collaboration with the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig and Konzerthausorchester Berlin.
In the 2022/2023 season, in addition to his commitments in Lucerne, he follows invitations to the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, SWR Symphonieorchester Stuttgart, Gürzenich-Orchester Köln, Dresdner Philharmonie, Hyogo Performing Arts Center Orchestra as well as the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and Orquestra Sinfónica do Porto, among others.
Michael Sanderling held his first principal position with the Kammerakademie Potsdam, holding the title of Artistic Director from 2006 to 2011. From 2011 to 2019, Michael Sanderling was Chief Conductor of the Dresdner Philharmonie. During his tenure he distinguished the orchestra as one of Germany's leading ensembles, leading the musicians in a wide variety of concert formats in Dresden and on numerous international tours. Together with the orchestra he recorded the complete symphonies of Beethoven and Shostakovich for Sony Classical to document this special collaboration.
His extensive discography includes recordings of important works by Dvořák, Schumann, Prokofiev, Tchaikovsky, and the complete symphonies of Beethoven and Shostakovich. It also includes a recording of works for cello and orchestra by Bloch, Korngold, Bruch and Ravel with Edgar Moreau and the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra, the latter was recently released by Warner Classics.
In the opera pit, Michael Sanderling’s previous appearances include a new production of Sergei Prokofiev's War and Peace at Oper Köln.
In 1987, at the age of 20, Sanderling was appointed principal cellist of the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig under Kurt Masur, and from 1994 to 2006 held the same position with the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin.
Sanderling is a passionate supporter of the next generation of young musicians. He teaches at the Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst in Frankfurt am Main, and regularly works with the Bundesjugendorchester, Junge Deutsche Philharmonie and Schleswig-Holstein Festival Orchestra. From 2003 until 2013 he has been Chief Conductor of the Deutsche Streicherphilharmonie. Together with the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra, he will continue and strengthen the collaboration with the Lucerne School of Music.