Michael Sanderling is a German conductor and cellist, the son of conductor
Kurt Sanderling and bassist
Barbara Sanderling, and youngest brother of conductors
Thomas Sanderling and
Stefan Sanderling.
At age 11,
Michael Sanderling began cello studies with Matthias Pfaender, and at 17 studied with Joseph Schwab at the
Hanns Eisler Hochschule für Musik. He continued his studies with
Yo-Yo Ma, William Pleeth,
Gary Hoffman, and
Lynn Harrell, and was engaged in 1987 as a soloist with the
Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra. From 1994 to 2001, he pursued a dual career in concert performance and in education, returning to the
Hanns Eisler High School to teach, as well as taking up duties at the Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts and the Hochschule der Künste Bern. He also played chamber music with
Julia Fischer,
Elisabeth Leonskaja,
Veronika Eberle, and
Martin Helmchen, and performed for nine years with
Trio Ex Aequo.
In 2001,
Sanderling began his career as a conductor with the Kammerorchester Berlin, and went on to direct many other ensembles, including the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, the
Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the
Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra, and the
Dresden Philharmonic, among several others. In 2010,
Sanderling stopped performing as a cello soloist, but continued to teach and conduct. He has recorded for CPO, Berlin Classics, Naxos, BIS, Genuin, and Sony.