Cristian Mandeal
Having studied piano, composition and conducting at the Music Academy in Bucharest, Cristian Mandeal later studied with Herbert von Karajan in Berlin and with Sergiu Celibidache in Munich. He became permanent conductor at the Targu Mures Philharmonic and the Cluj Philharmonic. Between 1987 and 2009 Cristian Mandeal acted as Principal Conductor and General Music Director of the Bucharest Philharmonic and oversaw its rise as an orchestra on the international scene. He served as Artistic Director with the Euskadi Symphony – National Basque Orchestra between 1999 and 2007. In the UK, Cristian Mandeal held the title of Principal Guest Conductor with the Hallé Orchestra in Manchester until the end of the 2008/2009 season and continues to work with the orchestra every season. He is currently Principal Guest Conductor of the Copenhagen Philharmonic.
In recent years Cristian Mandeal has been a frequent guest with orchestras including the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, RTV Slovenian Symphony Orchestra, Belgrade Philharmonic, RTE National Symphony Orchestra, the Prague National Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestra National de Cataluna, and the Gulbenkian Orchestra.
Involved in numerous recording projects, Cristian Mandeal has released the complete Bruckner cycle for Electrecord. The complete Brahms and Enescu orchestral works have been released with Arte Nova (BMG Ariola). In addition Mr. Mandeal has also recorded with Claves and BIS. His latest release is Bruckner Symphony No. 9 with the Hallé Orchestra (Hallé Record Label).
Cristian Mandeal has participated in many international festivals including the “George Enescu” Festival in Bucharest, of which he was Artistic Director in 2001 and 2003. He continues to appear at this festival every year with international guest orchestras. At the Edinburgh Festival in 2002 he conducted the BBC Scottish Orchestra in the British premiere of the opera “Oedipe” by George Enescu and in January 2005 he conducted a highly acclaimed new production of the opera in Italy. In August 2012 he conducted the Romanian National Youth Orchestra at the Young Euro Classic Festival in Berlin.
The 2011/12 season included his debut with the Belgian National Orchestra, engagements with the Camerata Salzburg in Bucharest, the RTV Slovenian Symphony Orchestra and the Copenhagen Philharmonic in a two-week-long Brahms festival. In the 2012/13 season Mr. Mandeal will make his debut with the Duisburg Philharmonic in Germany and the Pannon Philharmonic in Hungary.