Side Notes - Errata Corrige: Michael Sanderling Heads Dresden Philharmonic

I had the right conductor in mind but the wrong name at hand: it is of course Michael Sanderling who will be the new conductor of the Dresden Philharmonic, not his elder brother Thomas.

Michael Sanderling, who I was much impressed with when he recently pulled a difficult concert off very well (having to stand in on short notice for Riccardo Muti and meeting the BRSO in one of its less-than-genial moods), has a new job, and it’s a pretty terrific one: He is the new music director of the Dresden Philharmonic. Not to be mistaken with the more famous Staatskapelle (which just finished its North American tour in Washington, D.C.), it’s a major orchestra with a reputation, history, and discography that would be the envy of many other orchestral bodies in the world. In fact, I can’t think of any city even remotely the size of Dresden (the population hovers around half a million) that has a ‘second’ orchestra anywhere as good.

Thomas Sanderling succeeds Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos and steps into a line of conductors that include (in reverse chronological order) Marek Janowski, Michel Plasson, Herbert Kegel, Günther Herbig (a Baltimore regular, appearing this month with the BSO, I believe), Kurt Masur, Heinz Bongartz, Carl Schuricht, and Paul van Kempen. He will start his tenure just as Christian Thielemann will start his with the neighboring orchestra: This should spell exciting times for music lovers in and near Dresden.


Below I’ve selected a few favorite discs from their vast discography—which happens to include what I consider the very best choice for Liszt Piano Concertos.

Bruch / Brahms, Violin Concertos, Masur / S.Chang EMI	F.Liszt, Piano Concertos 1 & 2, Plasson / N.Freire Berlin Classics (also Brilliant)	M.Reger, Sinfonietta, Hymn of Love, et al. Bongartz Berlin Classics
Luigi Gatti / J. Haydn, "Creation" Mass & Schöpfungmesse, Roderich Kreile et al. Carus	Schnittke, Symphony No.9, D.R.Davies / Hilliard Ensemble ECM	M.Reger, Variations & Fugue on a Theme of Mozart, J.P.Weigle Capriccio SACD