Erik Nielsen

Biography

A pianist since an early age, Erik Nielsen studied oboe and harp as a rare double-major at The Juilliard School (New York) and later conducting at the Curtis Institute of Music (Philadelphia). In 2001, he moved to Germany as harpist in the Berlin Philharmonic’s Karajan Academy, playing many concerts with the Berlin Philharmonic.

In 2002 he began a 10-year association with the Frankfurt Opera, beginning as Korrepetitor, playing over 80 operas (pianist) and continuing as Kapellmeister, conducting over 25 operas, in a broad repertoire ranging from Monteverdi to Lachenmann.

Erik conducted Korngold’s Die tote Stadt with the Bilbao Symphony Orchestra (Bilbao Orkesta Sinfonikoa) in 2012 and was named Chief Conductor later in September 2015. In 2024, he stepped down after 9 seasons as music director, having conducted over 180 performances of symphonic works and operas.

Additionally, he was named Music Director of the Theater Basel (2016-2018) after conducting Eugene Onegin there in 2015, where he led numerous new productions and orchestral concerts with the Basel Sinfonieorchester.

As Chief Conductor of the Tiroler Festspiele (Erl, Tirol, Austria, 2022-2024) he conducted most recently a new production (Brigitte Fassbaender) of Wagner’s Ring Cycle (2021-2024). During his tenure in Tirol, he conducted over 35 symphonic and operatic works, including multiple performances of Wagner’s Ring.

Upcoming projects for the 24/25 season include his debut with the Houston Grand Opera in Tannhäuser, at the Semperoper Dresden Prokofiev’s Die Liebe zu den drei Orangen, and Tristan und Isolde with the A.B.A.O. in Bilbao, plus concerts in Munich, Oslo, Bilbao and Bratislava.

Recent engagements include a new production of Aida in Frankfurt (2023), Oedipus Rex & Antigone (World premiere of Samy Moussa) in Amsterdam, Salome in Zürich, Rusalka and Norma and Pelléas et Mélisande with the Semperoper Dresden, a world premier of Manfred Trojahn’s Eurydice die Liebenden, Blind in Amsterdam, and Peter Grimes, Das Rheingold and Krenek’s Karl V at the Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich.

He is a familiar guest conductor throughout Spain, having conducted the Orquesta Sinfonica de Galicia, the RTVE Orquesta (Madrid), the orchestras of Santiago de Compostela, Sevilla and Valladolid and the JONDE Spanish National Youth Orchestra. Most recently, he made his debuts in Krakow and in Bratislava and has conducted concerts in Stockholm, Oslo, Newcastle, Aspen Music Festival, Interlochen Arts Camp, Tanglewood, Ensemble Intercontemporain, Ensemble Modern, among others.

In 2009 he was awarded The Sir Georg Solti Conducting Award by the Solti Foundation U.S.

He is a dual citizen of the United States and Germany.

Tristan und Isolde with Bilbao Opera

One of the greatest achievements of the conductor Erik Nielsen was to find a perfect balance between the orchestral dense and powerful sound and all the voices. […]Nielsen managed not to hide the voices while keeping all the leitmotivs that intertwined all the time with each other and the voices very clearly.

Mauricio Villa Operawire January 2025

Singing the Praises of Greed and Naked Capitalism

He drew dynamic playing from the excellent orchestra and seemed at home in a challenging score that blurs distinctions between opera, musical theater and 1920s German cabaret, evoking everything from Bach fugues to the foxtrot, from medieval chant to the tango, from Stravinsky orchestral barbarism to jazzy banjo and saxophone.

Anthony Tommasini The New York Times

Erik Nielsen’s leadership of the concentrated orchestra was masterly…. The awestruck audience had held their breath for two hours, sharing the suffering on stage – a rare, unanimous storm of applause broke the tension at the end of the work.

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