Michael Stern

Established as one of the most sought-after young American conductors both in Europe and the United States, Michael Stern has been principal conductor of IRIS, a new orchestra in residence at the Germantown Performing Arts Centre, since its highly acclaimed inaugural season in 2000-2001. He also recently concluded his tenure as chief conductor of Germany's Saarbrücken Radio Symphony Orchestra. The first American Chief Conductor in the orchestra's history, he was offered the post almost immediately… Show more after making his debut with them in March 1996. In addition to their work in concert and for the radio at home, he and the orchestra made critically acclaimed tours to Spain, Portugal, China, and Switzerland, and made recordings which include the upcoming release of a disc of Henry Cowell's works as well as a series devoted to the music of Charles Ives, including a live recorded performance of the Universe Symphony and the first recording of the reconstructed Emerson piano concerto.
In September 1991, he was appointed Permanent Guest Conductor of the Orchestre National de Lyon in France, a position which he held for four years. He has also appeared with the national orchestras of Paris, Bordeaux, Lille, Strasbourg, and Toulouse. Elsewhere, Michael Stern has led such orchestras as the Oslo Philharmonic, the Bergen Symphony, the Beethovenhalle Orchestra in Bonn, the Deutsche Symphoniker (DSO) in Berlin, the Budapest Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Israel Philharmonic, the Moscow Philharmonic, the Helsinki Philharmonic, the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra in Munich, and the Chamber Orchestra of Lausanne. In the U.K. he has appeared with the London Symphony, the London Philharmonic, BBC Symphony (London), and the English Chamber Orchestra. Next year he will also perform for the first time with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic and the Gürzenich Symphony of Cologne. In the Far East, Mr. Stern has appeared with such orchestras as the National Symphony of Taiwan, the Singapore Symphony, and Tokyo's NHK Symphony, and next season will lead the recently formed National Orchestra of China in Beijing. He has also been a frequent guest conductor of the Tonhalle Orchestra in Zurich, with which he has recorded for Denon Records, including a disc of orchestral works by Stravinsky and Prokofiev's Violin Concertos Nos. 1 and 2 with Boris Belkin. He and Mr. Belkin have also recorded works by Tchaikovsky and Dvorák with the London Philharmonic, released earlier this year.

In North America, he will lead the New York Philharmonic in a series of outdoor concerts in July 2001. He has also conducted the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Pittsburgh Symphony, the Saint Louis Symphony, the Atlanta Symphony, the Houston Symphony, the Baltimore Symphony, the Toronto Symphony, the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, and the National Symphony in Washington, D.C., among many others. He also appears regularly at the Aspen Music Festival. From 1986 to 1991, Mr. Stern was the Assistant Conductor of the Cleveland Orchestra. In September 1986, he made his New York Philharmonic debut as one of three young conductors invited by Leonard Bernstein to participate in a conducting workshop that culminated in two concerts at Avery Fisher Hall.

Mr. Stern received his degree from the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, where his major teacher was the noted conductor and scholar, Max Rudolf (whose famous textbook The Grammar of Conducting Mr. Stern co-edited for its third edition.) He has also edited a new volume of Rudolf's collected writings and correspondence, to be published this year. His studies have included two summers at the Pierre Monteux Memorial School in Hancock, Maine, under the tutelage of Charles Bruck. Born in 1959, Mr. Stern is a graduate of Harvard University, where he earned a degree in American History in 1981. He is married to oboist Jeannette Bittar.

Courtesy of the Pittsburgh Symphony

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