Stéphane Denève

Stéphane Denève will be permanent guest conductor of the Radio Philharmonic Orchestra beginning in the 2023-2024 season. He combines this appointment with his position as principal conductor of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. Denève is director of the Center for Future Orchestral Repertoire (CffOR) and recently concluded a six-year term as principal guest conductor of The Philadelphia Orchestra. Previously, he was chief conductor of the SWR Symphonieorchester Stuttgart and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. As of season 22-23, he has been appointed Artistic Director of the New World Symphony. In doing so, he succeeds Michael Tilson Thomas, who remains associated with the orchestra as Artistic Director Laureate. Extensive information about Denève's appointment to the New World Symphony can be read here.

Denève is internationally acclaimed for the quality of his concerts and programming. He is regularly heard on the major concert stages with the world's greatest orchestras and soloists. He has a particular affinity for the music of his native France and is a passionate advocate for the music of the 21st century.

He has conducted the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Symphony Orchestra of Bavarian Radio, NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra, Wiener Philharmoniker, NHK Symphony, Orchestre National de France and the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, among others. In 2020, he conducted the Nobel Prize Concert with the Stockholm Philharmonic. In North America, he made his debut at Carnegie Hall in 2012 with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, with which he has performed several times in both Boston and Tanglewood. He also regularly conducts The Cleveland Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, The Philadelphia Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic and San Francisco Symphony Orchestra.

Denève maintains close ties with many leading solo artists, including Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider, Yo-Yo Ma, Nicola Benedetti, Leif Ove Andsnes, Leonidas Kavakos, Lang Lang, Frank Peter Zimmermann and Emanuel Axe.

In the field of opera, Stéphane Denève led a new production of Pelléas et Mélisande with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and the Netherlands Opera at the 2019 Holland Festival. Elsewhere, he has led productions at the Royal Opera House, Glyndebourne Festival, La Scala, Deutsche Oper Berlin, De Munt and at the Opéra National de Paris.

He has received rave reviews for his recordings of the works of Poulenc, Debussy, Ravel, Roussel, Franck and Connesson. He won a Diapason d'Or of the Year three times, has been nominated for Gramophone's Artist of the Year Award and has won the prize for symphonic music at the International Classical Music Awards. His most recent releases include a live recording of Honegger's Jeanne d'arc au bûcher with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, and works by Guillaume Connesson with the Brussels Philharmonic.

Stéphane Denève studied at the Paris Conservatoire and early in his career worked closely with Sir Georg Solti, Georges Prêtre and Seiji Ozawa. He places great importance on inspiring the next generation of musicians and listeners and has worked regularly with young people in programs such as those of the Tanglewood Music Center, New World Symphony, the Colburn School, the European Union Youth Orchestra, and the Music Academy of the West.