Christian Karlsen

Christian Karlsen, conductor
Having begun his career as assistant to Esa-Pekka Salonen, Christian Karlsen has rapidly established himself as one of the most gifted and innovative conductors of his generation.
He has worked with orchestras including the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra, Helsingborg Symphony, the Hague, Eindhoven, Arnhem Philharmonic Orchestras, Netherlands Radio Chamber Orchestra and the Amsterdam Sinfonietta. He is also a regular visitor to many leading new music ensembles like the ASKO|Schönberg Amsterdam, ICE International Contemporary Ensemble (New York), Birmingham Contemporary Music Group (most recently on their Mexico tour), Norrbotten NEO and BIT20 Bergen. Coming season he is conducting the London Sinfonietta at the Festival Presences in Paris.
Stage work includes Stockhausen MICHAELs REISE at the Netherlands Opera, Djuro Zivkovic’s BOGOLUCHIE at the Bergen Autunnale, Benjamin Staern’s SAIYAH and Kaija Saariaho’s NOX BOREALIS at Norrland Opera and Beat Furrer’s FAMA with ASKO|Schönberg in Amsterdam, as well as concert performances of Schönberg’s ERWARTUNG in Amsterdam and Vienna. He is this year making his debut at the Deutsche Oper Berlin.
Having always been a strong advocate for the music of our time, he has led numerous world premieres and collaborated with leading composers as Kaija Saariaho, Salvatore Sciarrino, Sofia Gubaidulina, Steve Reich, Harrison Birtwistle, Magnus Lindberg, Anders Hillborg, Thomas Adès, Oliver Knussen and Karlheinz Stockhausen.
He was 2015-2017 artistic leader the Hague’s Festival Dag in de Branding (Residentie Orchestra and the Royal Conservatoire) yearly presenting four editions. Highlights included Scenes from Stockhausen’s opera LICHT, Salvatore Sciarrino’s Studi per l’Intonazione del Mare and major works by Edgar Varèse. His multimedia production of Fausto Romitelli’s Professor Bad Trip was selected as one of the 2016 top-5 music events of the year by NRC Handelsblad.
He was artistic director of the New European Ensemble 2008-2014 as well as the 2011 Kaija Saariaho festival in the Hague (with Residentie Orkest, New European Ensemble and the Royal Conservatoire).
In 2018 he founded of Gränslandet – Symfonisk Fest in Stockholm together with pianist David Huang, a festival with classical music for young adults that reached nearly 6000 visitors in its first edition in 2018.
He studied at the Royal Conservatoire the Hague.