The Staatskapelle Dresden Elects Daniele Gatti as Next Chief Conductor

Gatti, who succeeds Christian Thielemann, will step into the position in mid-2024

The Italian conductor Daniele Gatti will be the next Chief Conductor at Germany's Staatskapelle Dresden after the orchestra voted unanimously in his favor. Gatti first worked with the group in February 2000, and since that time, has maintained a strong relationship with the orchestra; he is set to conduct Mahler's Ninth Symphony there in July 2022.

He succeeds the orchestra's current Chief Conductor Christian Thielemann, whose contract comes to an end in July 2024. Thielemann, who has led the orchestra since 2012, was not offered a contract extension.

Gatti was previously Chief Conductor of Amsterdam's Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, but was fired with immediate effect in July of 2018 after two allegations of sexual misconduct surfaced.

"With the election of Daniele Gatti as the next chief conductor, we can not only continue the extremely successful cooperation of the past few years, but also win one of the most renowned conducting personalities of the present for the Staatskapelle Dresden," said a representative of the Orchestra Board in a statement.

"His sensitive feeling for the special sound of the Staatskapelle, his gripping musical visions, and last but not least his international reputation have made him the orchestra's preferred candidate."

"With Daniele Gatti, the musicians of the Staatskapelle Dresden have today chosen an artist as their future chief conductor who, due to his enormous musical experience and his joy in a diverse repertoire, sets decisive accents in opera and on the concert platform both in Dresden and on the international stage," said Nora Schmid, the Artistic Director of Semperoper.

"I am really looking forward to working with him, planning and developing together, because we have been in an inspiring exchange for a long time."