Sylvain Cambreling

Career Trajectory

Beginning as a trombonist trained at the Conservatoire de Paris, Sylvain Cambreling pivoted to conducting in the mid-1970s, making his orchestral debut in 1975 and his operatic debut in 1978 at the Opéra National de Paris. His five-decade career has been defined by a dual mastery of symphonic and operatic repertoires, with particular distinction in contemporary music fostered through his early association with Pierre Boulez and the Ensemble Intercontemporain. He has held music directorships at major European opera houses and orchestras—from the Théâtre de la Monnaie in Brussels to Frankfurt Opera to the SWR Sinfonieorchester and Stuttgart State Opera—establishing himself as a conductor of intellectual authority and modernist conviction.