Staatskapelle Dresden Elects Daniele Gatti As Future Chief Conductor

Following yesterday´s orchestra assembly, the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden entrusted its orchestra board and the Saxon Minister of State for Culture and Tourism, Barbara Klepsch, to enter into negotiations with Daniele Gatti for the position of the future Chief conductor of the Staatskapelle.

In February 2000, the Italian conductor Daniele Gatti made his debut at the rostrum of the Staatskapelle Dresden with works by Mendelssohn Bartholdy, Hindemith and Brahms upon the invitation of the then Chief conductor Giuseppe Sinopoli. In the years that followed, the fruitful collaboration continued steadily, most recently in November 2021 Gatti conducted the orchestra as part of the »Easter Festival in Autumn« in Salzburg and was celebrated by audiences and press alike. In July 2022 he will return to Dresden with Gustav Mahler's Ninth Symphony for the final subscription concert of the season.

Christian Thielemann's contract as Chief conductor of the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden ends in July 2024.

The Orchestra Board of the Staatskapelle Dresden:

»With the election of Daniele Gatti as the next Chief conductor, we can not only continue the extremely successful cooperation of the past few years, but also win one of the most renowned conductor personalities of the present for the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden. His sensitivity for the unique sound of the Staatskapelle, his gripping musical visions and last but not least his international reputation have made him the orchestra's preferred candidate. We are certain that, together with Maestro Gatti as Chief conductor, we will be well equipped and will be able to face the future with the same high artistic excellence as before.«

Nora Schmid, designated Artistic director of the Semperoper:

»With Daniele Gatti, the musicians of the Sächsische Staatskapelle have chosen an artist as their future Chief conductor, who, due to his enormous musical experience and his enthusiasm for a diverse repertoire, sets significant accents in opera and concerts both in Dresden and on the international concert podium. I am really looking forward to working with him as we have been in an inspiring exchange for a long time.«

Daniele Gatti studied at the Conservatorio Giuseppe Verdi in Milan. He is music director of the Orchestra Mozart, artistic advisor to the Mahler Chamber Orchestra and chief conductor of the Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino. He was Music Director of the Teatro dell'Opera in Rome, Principal Conductor of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam and previously held similar positions at major musical institutions such as the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the Orchester national de France, the Royal Opera House in London, the Teatro Comunale di Bologna and the Zurich Opera House. He also works regularly with the Berlin Philharmonic, the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Orchestra Filarmonica della Scala. The most important opera productions under his direction include »Falstaff« in London, Milan and Amsterdam, »Parsifal« for the opening of the 2008 Bayreuth Festival and at the Metropolitan Opera in New York and a total of four operas at the Salzburg Festival. Sony Classical released recordings of Debussy and Stravinsky with the Orchester national de France. Berlioz´ »Symphonie fantastique«, Mahler's second symphony and a DVD of Stravinsky's »Le sacre du printemps« together with Debussy's »Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune« and »La mer« were released under the label »RCO Live«.