Artists

• Nathalie Stutzmann

  Conductor

  Nathalie Stutzmann is the new music director of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, beginning in the 2022–23 season, making her the second woman in history to lead a major American orchestra. She is also principal guest conductor of The Philadelphia Orchestra, since 2021, when her partnership with The Philadelphia Orchestra attracted outstanding accolades from the press, and chief conductor of the Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra in Norway, since 2018. Charismatic musicianship, unique rigor, energy, and fantasy characterize her style. A rich variety of strands forms the core of her repertoire. Central European and Russian Romanticism is a strong focus — ranging from Beethoven, Schumann, Brahms, and Dvořák through to the larger symphonic forces of Tchaikovsky, Wagner, Mahler, Bruckner, and Strauss — as well as French 19th-century repertoire and Impressionism.

  Highlights as guest conductor in the next seasons include debuts with the Munich Philharmonic and Helsinki Philharmonic as well as the New York Philharmonic in these performances. She also returns to the London Symphony Orchestra and the Orchestre de Paris. Having also established a strong reputation as an opera conductor, Stutzmann has led celebrated productions of Wagner’s Tannhäuser in Monte Carlo and Boito’s Mefistofele at the Orange Festival. She began the 2022–23 season with a new production of Tchaikovsky’s Pikovaya Dama in Brussels’s La Monnaie and makes her Metropolitan Opera debut with two productions of Mozart operas: The Magic Flute and Don Giovanni. She also leads Tannhäuser at the Bayreuth Festival in 2023.

  Stutzmann started her piano, bassoon, and cello studies at a very young age, and studied conducting with the legendary Finnish teacher Jorma Panula. She was mentored by Seiji Ozawa and Simon Rattle. Also one of today’s most esteemed contraltos, she studied the German repertoire with Hans Hotter and has performed on more than 80 recordings and received prestigious awards. Contralto, her most recent album, released in January 2021, received Scherzo’s Exceptional seal, Opera Magazine’s Diamant d’Or, and radio RTL’s Classique d’Or.

  She is an exclusive recording artist of Warner Classics / Erato.

  Nathalie Stutzmann was named Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur, France’s highest honor, and Commandeur dans l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French government.

  Learn more about Nathalie Stutzmann

• Alisa Weilerstein

  Cello

  Alisa Weilerstein is one of the foremost cellists of our time. Since making her professional and Carnegie Hall debuts in her early teens, she has been in high demand as a solo recitalist, chamber musician, and concerto soloist with leading orchestras worldwide. She was recognized with a MacArthur Fellowship in 2011.

  
  Learn more about Alisa Weilerstein