Susanne Blumenthal
Conductor
Susanne Blumenthal is one of the most versatile conductors of her generation, moving effortlessly between contemporary art music, jazz and improvised music, complex interdisciplinary projects, or at the helm of more “traditional” orchestral programs.
She has worked with the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, Klangforum Wien, Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, ORF Radio Symphony Orchestra, SWR Symphony Orchestra, SWR Vokalensemble, Tyrolean Symphony Orchestra, Ensemble Modern, Remix Ensemble Casa da Música, ÖENM Salzburg, PHACE, Ensemble Musikfabrik, Talea Ensemble (NY), appearing at the Klavier-Festival Ruhr, Schauspiel Frankfurt, Staatstheater Braunschweig, the Munich Biennale, Musikfest Berlin, Wien Modern, and conducted the opening concerts of Donaueschingen Music Festival, Klangspuren Schwaz and the AFEKT Festival. This season sees her debut with Collegium Novum Zürich and Basel Sinfonietta and she conducts the Italian premiere of Lucia Ronchetti’s opera Searching for Zenobia at the Festival Verdi in Parma. She also returns to Copenhagen (Athelas Sinfonietta), Porto and Vienna (Ensemble Remix Casa da Música) and for two more projects with Klangforum Wien.
Particularly sought after for her interpretations of contemporary music, with her keen attention to detail and collaborative approach, Susanne Blumenthal has worked closely with
composers such as Isabel Mundry, Manos Tsangaris, Rebecca Saunders, Helmut
Lachenmann, Lucia Ronchetti, George Lewis, Hans Zender, Nicolaus A. Huber, Friedrich Cerha, Johannes Kalitzke,
Mark Andre, Simon Steen-Andersen, Beat Furrer, Oxana Omelchuk, Gordon Kampe,
Ying Wang and Vito Žuraj.
With her own new music ensemble MAM.manufaktur - a collective founded by International Ensemble Modern Academy fellows in 2010 that interacts between improvisation, performance and interpreting through-composed music, with a focus on interdisciplinary projects - she has appeared at numerous festivals at home and abroad, including Ultraschall Berlin, the Donaueschingen Music Days, Eight Bridges, ECLAT, the Darmstadt Summer Courses, Festival Mixtur in Barcelona, Festival de Música Contemporánea in Oviedo and the Contemporary Music Society in Seoul.
As Founder and Artistic Director of the EOS Chamber Orchestra in Cologne, she explores the boundaries between contemporary and improvised music/jazz, performing at the Moers Festival, the Bonn Jazz Festival and the Monheim Triennale, among others.
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Susanne Blumenthal was a lecturer in orchestral conducting at the Leipzig University of Music and Theatre for seven years before being appointed Professor of New Music at the Cologne University of Music and Dance in 2021. She is a member of both the Forum Conducting Advisory Board and the Podium Gegenwart Advisory Board of the German Music Council (Deutscher Musikrat).
With her own new music ensemble MAM.manufaktur - a collective founded by International Ensemble Modern Academy fellows in 2010 that interacts between improvisation, performance and interpreting through-composed music, with a focus on interdisciplinary projects - she has appeared at numerous festivals at home and abroad, including Ultraschall Berlin, the Donaueschingen Music Days, Eight Bridges, ECLAT, the Darmstadt Summer Courses, Festival Mixtur in Barcelona, Festival de Música Contemporánea in Oviedo and the Contemporary Music Society in Seoul.
As Founder and Artistic Director of the EOS Chamber Orchestra in Cologne, she explores the boundaries between contemporary and improvised music/jazz, performing at the Moers Festival, the Bonn Jazz Festival and the Monheim Triennale, among others.
Susanne Blumenthal was a lecturer in orchestral conducting at the Leipzig University of Music and Theatre for seven years before being appointed Professor of New Music at the Cologne University of Music and Dance in 2021. She is a member of both the Forum Conducting Advisory Board and the Podium Gegenwart Advisory Board of the German Music Council (Deutscher Musikrat).
Links / Susanne Blumenthal:
︎ Donaueschinger Musiktage 2024 Opening Concert (SWR Symphonieorchester, live)
︎ Ensemble Modern (Marevo by Anna Korsun)
︎ Helmut Lachenmann: …zwei Gefühle… Sprecher: Helmut Lachenmann,
Ensemble ColLAB Cologne
︎︎︎ Talea Ensemble (NY), debut at Donaueschinger Musiktage 2022 (radio)
︎︎︎ SWR Kultur radio interview 17.10.24 (Portrait by Friederike Kenneweg around Donaueschinger Musiktage concert / in german)
︎︎︎ Deutschlandfunk radio interview 19.01.24 (MAM.manufaktur at Ultraschall Fest Berlin / in german)
︎︎︎ Artist website
︎ Christian Palm, Laura Westerhoff
Professional precision, alert sense of sound... highly intelligent artistic forming.
HELMUT LACHENMANN
Working with Susanne Blumental was a great pleasure.
“Void” was meticulously rehearsed and beautifully performed - proportion, line, contour and colour moulded with utmost care and conviction.
REBECCA SAUNDERS
The collaboration with G. Ligeti Piano Concerto was totally inspirational. With joy and admiration!
PIERRE-LAURENT AIMARD
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HELMUT LACHENMANN
Working with Susanne Blumental was a great pleasure.
“Void” was meticulously rehearsed and beautifully performed - proportion, line, contour and colour moulded with utmost care and conviction.
REBECCA SAUNDERS
The collaboration with G. Ligeti Piano Concerto was totally inspirational. With joy and admiration!
PIERRE-LAURENT AIMARD
Amazing
conductor and person! Her
experimental attitude recognizes no borders or limits.
GEORGE LEWIS
A great musician, a passionate and surprising artist.
LUCIA RONCHETTI
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GEORGE LEWIS
A great musician, a passionate and surprising artist.
LUCIA RONCHETTI
