Nathalie Stutzmann

Biography

Named "Best Conductor of the Year" at the 2024 Oper! Awards, Nathalie Stutzmann has been the Music Director of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra since 2022 and is the second woman in history to lead a major American orchestra. She is also the Principal Guest Conductor of The Philadelphia Orchestra.

Nathalie made big news in the opera pit in 2023 with her debut in Wagner’s Tannhäuser at the Bayreuth Festival. She also made "a splashy debut" and "the coup of the year" (The New York Times) with her unanimously acclaimed double debuts at the Metropolitan Opera.

Highlights of her 2023/24 season with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra include a Bruckner festival to celebrate the composer’s 200th anniversary, collaborations with soloists such as Renée Fleming, Maria João Pires, and Daniil Trifonov, recording projects for Warner/Erato, and a tour in California. With The Philadelphia Orchestra, she will lead two weeks of programs, including her conducting debut at Carnegie Hall.

As a guest conductor this season, she has made debuts with the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra and Teatro Regio Torino. She returned to the London Symphony Orchestra for a Bruckner celebration week. Throughout the season, Nathalie has had a strong presence at the Philharmonie Paris where she has appeared with the Orchestre de Paris and Orchestre du Capitole de Toulouse, and also chaired the jury for the La Maestra Conducting Competition. During the summer of 2024, she will head back to the Bayreuth Festival.

Awarded the 2023 Opus Klassik "Concert Recording of the Year" for her recording of both the Glière and Mosolov Harp Concertos with Xavier de Maistre and WDR Sinfonieorchester, Nathalie also released in 2022 the complete Beethoven Piano Concertos recorded with Haochen Zhang and The Philadelphia Orchestra. Nathalie is an exclusive recording artist of Warner/Erato.

Nathalie started her studies at a very young age in piano, bassoon, and cello and studied conducting with the legendary Finnish teacher Jorma Panula. As one of today’s most esteemed contraltos, she has made more than 80 recordings and received the most prestigious awards. Recognized for her significant contribution to the arts, Nathalie 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.