Karl-Heinz Steffens
Karl-Heinz Steffens has had successful careers as a clarinetist and, later, a conductor. In the former capacity, he was principal clarinetist with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, and in the latter, he has held several music director positions. Steffens recorded clarinet music as a soloist and chamber player, and as a conductor, he has amassed a recording catalog focusing on 20th century and contemporary works. In 2024, he and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra backed pianist Zlata Chochieva on the album Works for Piano and Orchestra: Prokofiev, Rimsky-Korsakov, Tsafsman.
Steffens was born in Trier on November 28, 1961. He attended the Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst Stuttgart from 1982 to 1985, studying with Ulf Rodenhäuser. Even while a student, he landed a post as a clarinetist in the orchestra of the Stadttheater Kassel. In 1985, he moved on to the Frankfurt Opera, remaining there until 1989; he then spent the next seven years in the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra. In 1997, he made his recording debut, issuing the album Blue Rondo on the Tudor label with a chamber group called International Connection. The album contained a recording of Dave Brubeck's jazz classic Blue Rondo à la Turk. He made several more chamber music recordings on Tudor, including one of Brahms' clarinet chamber music in 2005. The following year, he issued the album Lush Life with pianist David Gazarov; that album had an all-jazz program. From 2001 to 2007, Steffens was principal clarinetist in the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra.
After stepping down from that prestigious post, Steffens began his conducting career as general music director of the Staatskapelle Halle, a position that involved responsibility for both the city's symphony orchestra and its opera house. He was music director of the Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz in Ludwigshafen from 2009 to 2018; a recording with that group of music by Bernd Alois Zimmerman won an ECHO Klassik Award. Steffens also served as music director of the Norwegian National Opera and Ballet from 2016 to 2018. He remained active in Scandinavia, becoming principal conductor of Sweden's Norrköping Symphony Orchestra in 2020. He continued to hold that position as of the mid-2020s. Steffens also served as the music director of the Prague State Opera in Czechia, where he instituted a "Musica non Grata" series devoted to works by composers persecuted by 20th century totalitarian regimes.
The orchestras Steffens has guest conducted make up a distinguished roster, including the Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra, the Vienna Symphony, the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, and various top English groups. Steffens has recorded with many of the groups he has been associated with, including the Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz, with which he issued an album of works by George Antheil -- including A Jazz Symphony -- in 2017. Most of his recordings have featured 20th and 21st century works. Steffens made several albums for Capriccio, moving to Naïve in 2024 for an album of piano-and-orchestra works with Zlata Chochieva and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. By that time, his catalog comprised some 40 albums.
© James Manheim /TiVo
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Diskografie
37 Album, -en • Geordnet nach Bestseller
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Prokofiev, Rimsky-Korsakov & Tsfasman: Works for Piano and Orchestra
Zlata Chochieva, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Karl-Heinz Steffens
Klassik - Erschienen bei naïve, a label of Believe Group am 18.10.2024
Verfügbar in24-Bit/192 kHz Stereo -
Vaughan Williams: Orchestral Works
Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz, Karl-Heinz Steffens
Klassik - Erschienen bei Capriccio am 04.08.2017
Verfügbar in24-Bit/48 kHz Stereo -
Krenek: Orchestral Works
Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz, Karl-Heinz Steffens
Klassik - Erschienen bei Capriccio am 01.11.2019
Verfügbar in24-Bit/48 kHz Stereo -
Krenek: Orchestral Works
Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz, Karl-Heinz Steffens
Klassik - Erschienen bei Capriccio am 01.11.2019
Verfügbar in24-Bit/48 kHz Stereo -
Ginastera: Obertura para el Fausto Criollo, Op. 9, Variaciones Concertantes, Op. 23, Ollantay, Op. 17 & Bomarzo Suite, Op. 34a
Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz, Karl-Heinz Steffens
Klassik - Erschienen bei Capriccio am 13.11.2015
Verfügbar in24-Bit/48 kHz Stereo -
Alberto Ginastera : Obertura para el Fausto Criollo...
Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz, Karl-Heinz Steffens
Klassik - Erschienen bei Capriccio am 13.11.2015
Verfügbar in24-Bit/48 kHz Stereo -
Dutilleux: Symphony No. 1, 2 Sonnets de Jean Cassou & Métaboles
Paul Armin Edelmann, Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz, Karl-Heinz Steffens
Klassik - Erschienen bei Capriccio am 07.08.2015
Verfügbar in24-Bit/48 kHz Stereo -
Antheil: A Jazz Symphony
Frank Dupree, Adrian Brendle, Uram Kim, Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz, Karl-Heinz Steffens
Klassik - Erschienen bei Capriccio am 01.06.2017
Verfügbar in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Schumann, R.: 3 Romanzen, Op. 94 / Fantasiestücke / 5 Pieces in Folk Style / Myrthen
Karl-Heinz Steffens, Karina Wisniewska
Kammermusik - Erschienen bei Tudor am 01.01.2003
Verfügbar in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Kabalevsky: Pathétique Overture, Violin Concerto, Vesna & Colas Breugnon
Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz, Yury Revich, Magda Amara, Karl-Heinz Steffens
Klassik - Erschienen bei Capriccio am 03.08.2018
Verfügbar in24-Bit/48 kHz Stereo -
Zimmermann: Alagoana, Sinfonie in einem Satz, Photoptosis & Stille und Umkehr
Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz, Karl-Heinz Steffens
Klassik - Erschienen bei Capriccio am 07.10.2014
Verfügbar in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Fuchs: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 2
WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln, Karl-Heinz Steffens
Klassik - Erschienen bei CPO am 01.04.2016
Verfügbar in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Fuchs: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 2
WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln, Karl-Heinz Steffens
Klassik - Erschienen bei CPO am 01.04.2016
Verfügbar in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Vaughan Williams: Orchestral Works
Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz, Martin Rummel, Karl-Heinz Steffens
Klassik - Erschienen bei Capriccio am 04.08.2017
Verfügbar in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Ouvertüren
Bamberger Symphoniker, Karl-Heinz Steffens
Klassik - Erschienen bei Tudor am 06.05.2016
Verfügbar in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Ouvertüren
Bamberger Symphoniker, Karl-Heinz Steffens
Klassik - Erschienen bei Tudor am 06.05.2016
Verfügbar in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Rimsky-Korsakov: Andante mosso (from Piano Concerto in C-sharp Minor, Op. 30)
Zlata Chochieva, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Karl-Heinz Steffens
Klassik - Erschienen bei naïve, a label of Believe Group am 06.09.2024
Verfügbar in24-Bit/192 kHz Stereo -
Tsfasman: Lyrical Waltz (from Jazz Suite)
Zlata Chochieva, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Karl-Heinz Steffens
Klassik - Erschienen bei naïve, a label of Believe Group am 27.09.2024
Verfügbar in24-Bit/192 kHz Stereo -
Carl Maria von Weber : Clarinet Concertos - Concertino (Karl-Heinz Steffens, clarinette - Radoslaw Szulc)
Instrumentalmusik - Erschienen bei Tudor am 01.11.2011
Verfügbar in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Weinberger: Orchestral Works
Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz, Unknown Artist, Karl-Heinz Steffens
Klassik - Erschienen bei CPO am 06.09.2019
Verfügbar in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo