Thomas Sanderling

Who is Thomas Sanderling?

Thomas Sanderling is a German conductor. Living in exile with his famous father, conductor Kurt Sanderling, Thomas Sanderling was born in the Soviet Union and began his education by studying violin at the special school of the Leningrad Conservatory. In 1960 he began his studies at the Hochschule für Musik "Hanns Eisler" in Berlin. In 1962, after winning a national conducting competition, he made his debut as a conductor, followed by further studies with Hans Swarowsky. He was assistant to Herbert von Karajan and Leonard Bernstein. Thomas Sanderling started his career in Sondershausen and Reichenbach, before being appointed music director in Halle/Saale in 1966, where he began to discover and work on a wide range of repertoire in both concert and opera. In 1978 he made his debut at the Wiener Staatsoper and later at the Bayerische Staatsoper, which was followed by his appointment to the position of permanent guest conductor at the Deutsche Staatsoper Berlin. He eventually moved to the Federal Republic of Germany in 1983. Between 1984 and 1986 he was principal conductor and artistic advisor of Amsterdam’s Philharmonisch Orkest.