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.
Following multiple engagements with the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, SWR Vokalensemble, Ensemble Modern, PHACE, Ensemble Musikfabrik, Talea Ensemble, Klavier-Festival Ruhr, Schauspiel Frankfurt, the Munich Biennale, and others, she makes her debut this year at Musikfest Berlin, with the SWR Symphony Orchestra at the opening concert of the Donaueschingen Music Festival, as well as with the ORF Radio Symphony Orchestra at Wien Modern.
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, 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.
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.
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.
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 Present Advisory Board of the German Music Council and a board member of ON – Neue Musik Köln e. V.
Links / Susanne Blumenthal:
︎ Ensemble Modern (Marevo by Anna Korsun)
︎ Helmut Lachenmann: …zwei Gefühle… Sprecher: Helmut Lachenmann,
Ensemble ColLAB Cologne
︎︎︎ Talea Ensemble (NY), debut at Donaueschinger Music Days 2022 (radio)
︎︎︎ Deutschlandfunk Radio Interview 19.01.24 (MAM.manufaktur at Ultraschall Fest Berlin / in german)
︎︎︎ Artist website
︎ Laura Westerhoff, Frank Schemmann