Hailed as “enormously talented” by the Neue Zürcher Zeitung, the Russian-born German conductor, composer and pianist Sergey Neller came to the attention of the classical music world as the 2nd Prize Winner of the prestigious 2016 Gustav Mahler Conducting Competition hosted by the Bamberg Symphony.
Recent highlights include debuts with the Mariinsky Orchestra, Ulster Orchestra, Verbier Festival Junior Orchestra, Philharmonie Zuidnederland, Szczecin Philharmonic Orchestra, Oulu Sinfonia, the Janacek Philharmonic Orchestra of Ostrava, and Nürnberger Symphoniker, where Neller directed Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 25 from the piano, and conducted works by Tchaikovsky and Shostakovich. He also conducted a studio recording session of Shostakovich’s 12th Symphony with the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra for Bayerischer Rundfunk, and returned to the orchestra at the end of 2017 for a series of educational concerts. He recently made his US debut with the Jacksonville Symphony, where Neller once again directed from the piano, this time in Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 21, leading one review to describe him as “a remarkably talented artist”. He also participated as one of four selected conductors in masterclasses with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra under the direction of Daniele Gatti. His other mentors include such luminary figures as Vladimir Jurowski, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Gennady Rozhdestvensky, Sir Simon Rattle and David Zinman, with whom he worked in orchestral masterclasses with the Tonhalle-Orchester Zurich.
Following a critically acclaimed new production of Rodion Shchedrin’s opera Lolita at the National Theatre Prague, Neller made his debut at the Mariinsky Theatre with the same work, sharing the conducting duties for the run of performances with the theatre’s Music Director Valery Gergiev. He also takes the podium for a performance of Ariadne auf Naxos during his time at the Mariinsky.
As a gifted composer, Neller was the recipient of the renowned Mstislav Rostropovich Foundation Award, during which period he composed his first opera, ‘Tintagiles’ and premiered it at the Helikon Opera in Moscow. Composed to an original libretto based on Maurice Maeterlinck’s play ‘The Death of Tintagiles’, the work attracted the attention of the international press and resonated strongly with Russian audiences. Afterwards, Neller created his second opera, ‘Phaedra’, composed to a libretto by the contemporary Russian poet and playwright Alexey Parin. Neller has also enjoyed considerable success as a pianist, having won international competitions in Austria, Bulgaria, Italy and the United States, and given concerts throughout Europe, North America and Australia. He has also made several recordings of works by Chopin, Medtner, Oborin and Scriabin.