12 great classical soloists who became leading conductors

22 July 2024, 13:43 | Updated: 24 July 2024, 12:07

The revered conductors, past and present, who were well known as soloists long before they stepped up to the podium.

Most of the conductors of the world likely learned musical instruments before it occurred to them to step onto the podium. But living for the feeling of summoning the energy and togetherness of the orchestra in front of them, as if by sheer will power alone, they soon forgot their days in the practice room, or obscure back desk of the orchestra, abandoned their instruments, and enjoyed the limelight as leader of it all.

But there are some conductors, famous today for leading the great symphony, philharmonic and chamber orchestras of the world, who had – or who still have – past or parallel lives making as strong a reputation for themselves as soloists as they do directors of the orchestra.

Stepping from one kind of spotlight to another, they swap their instruments – or their voices, as some examples here will show – for the delicate baton, and apply all they have learned as masters of their craft in performance to directing a sea of people making up the greatest musical instrument of them all: the orchestra.

Here we celebrate some of the greatest soloists turned conductors, past and present.

Read more: The 25 greatest conductors of all time

1. Leonard Bernstein

   Musical polymath Leonard Bernstein was one of the greatest conductors and composers of the 20th century. But he was also an incredible pianist. He often conducted piano concertos from the keyboard, fluently undertaking the solo part while achieving absolute obedience from the orchestra, and he recorded numerous piano pieces, including piano concertos by Ravel, Beethoven and Shostakovich, and Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, on the RCA Victor and Columbia record labels.

   Read more: Who was Leonard Bernstein?

   

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2. Daniel Barenboim

   Argentine-born maestro, Daniel Barenboim, is known equally as a conductor as he is a brilliant pianist. He has served as the music director for some of the world’s most famous institutions, including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestre de Paris and La Scala in Milan, and in parallel had a distinguished career as a concert pianist since making his international debut as a pianist at the age of 10.

   

3. Barbara Hannigan

   Canadian conductor Barbara Hannigan won the Best Classical Solo Vocal Grammy for her 2017 Alpha Classics recording, Crazy Girl Crazy, before making numerous other acclaimed recordings. The award-winning soprano has conducted some of the most famous orchestras in the world, including the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, and the London Symphony Orchestra. She recently premiered a new production of Poulenc’s opera La Voix Humaine, in which she sings and conducts at the same time.

   Read more: Barbara Hannigan on mentoring the next generation of classical music stars

   

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4. Maxim Vengerov

   Classic FM Artist in Residence and violinist Maxim Vengerov became a conductor in 2007, following in the footsteps of people who had been his mentors, including Daniel Barenboim and the late Mstislav Rostropovich. Conductor of Gstaad Festival Orchestra since 2010, Vengerov says, “a violin has four strings, while an orchestra has hundreds. Being a conductor has deepened and expanded my horizons in music. Having a solo career as a violinist can be lonely at times. That’s why it is such a fulfilling way to share the music making process with colleagues from orchestras.”

   Read more: Maxim Vengerov presents exclusive violin masterclass videos for Classic FM

   

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5. Mstislav Rostropovich

   A mentor of Maxim Vengerov, the great cellist Mstislav Rostropovich was music director and conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, D.C. from 1977 to 1994. He was also the director and founder of the Mstislav Rostropovich Baku International Festival, and also conducted at other orchestras and opera houses. Rostropovich is famous for making a widely-reported impromptu performance at the fall of the Berlin Wall, where he played a Bach Suite as the wall came down.

   

6. Susanna Mälkki

   Sticking with cellists, and Finnish conductor Susanna Mälkki dedicated herself to the cello long before she became a renowned conductor. In 1994, she gained attention when she won the 1st prize in the Turku National Cello Competition, and from 1995 to 1998, she was principal cellist in the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra. She left this position, though, to pursue conducting, and, currently chief conductor emeritus at Helsinki Philharmonic, she has conducted all the most famous orchestras you can think of: Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Orchestra, The Cleveland Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Boston Symphony, London Symphony Orchestra, Munich Philharmonic, Vienna Symphony Orchestra and the Berlin Philharmonic. There are plenty of others.

   Read more: 11 of today’s best women conductors

   

7. Jaap van Zweden

   Jaap van Zweden is music director of the New York and Hong Kong Philharmonics, and the music director of the Seoul Philharmonic since 2024, and he’s conducted orchestras all over the world. Born in Amsterdam, brilliant violinist Zweden was appointed the youngest-ever concertmaster of Amsterdam’s Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra when he was just 19, and he didn’t begin his esteemed conducting career until almost 20 years later.

   

8. Pinchas Zukerman

   A student of towering violinists Isaac Stern and Ivan Galamian, Pinchas Zukerman is famous for over 110 acclaimed recordings – including 21 that have earned him Grammy nominations – and on top of that he’s also a conductor, most recently conductor emeritus at the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa.

   

9. Nathalie Stutzmann

   Nathalie Stutzmann is a French contralto singer, known among other things for collaborating with Ton Koopman and the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir on his project recording Bach’s complete vocal works. She turned to conducting in the early 2000s, and founded the chamber orchestra Orfeo 55, where she could be both conductor and singer, in 2009. She made history in 2020 when the Philadelphia Orchestra named Stutzmann its first ever female principal guest conductor, and she is currently also music director of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra.

   Read more: Nathalie Stutzmann named second ever female conductor of major American orchestra

   

10. Leonidas Kavakos

    Greek violinist Leonidas Kavakos is no stranger to turning the heads of competition and recording awards panels. In 2014, he was named Gramophone Artist of the Year, and seven years before that he had been Echo Klassik’s Instrumentalist of the Year, after he recorded Beethoven’s Complete Violin Sonatas. He won the prestigious Sibelius and Paganini Competitions when he was all but a teenager still. But he’s now also revered as a conductor. In August 2019, he conducted the Verbier Festival Chamber Orchestra, and he has conducted the London Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Houston Symphony, Dallas Symphony, Budapest Festival Orchestra, Vienna Symphony, and many other prestigious orchestras around the world.

    

11. Julian Rachlin

    Lithuanian Julian Rachlin is the music director of the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra and chief conductor of the Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra in Norway, and has also been principal guest conductor of the Turku Philharmonic Orchestra and principal artistic partner of the Royal Northern Sinfonia. But conducting wasn’t ostensibly his first love: before he picked up the baton, Rachlin brandished the bow and made numerous appearances as soloist with the world’s top orchestras playing the violin and the viola. Rachlin has also made acclaimed chamber music and concerto recordings on both instruments.

    

12. Han-na Chang

    A child prodigy, Han-na Chang began playing piano at three, and then her chosen instrument of the cello at the age of six. In the early 90s she studied with Mstislav Rostropovich and made her debut recording of Tchaikovsky and Saint-Saëns under the baton of her teacher. After becoming established as one of the world’s finest young cellists, Han-na’s interest moved to conducting. Han-na made her professional debut on the podium in South Korea in 2007. Since then she has swapped cello bow for baton entirely and held roles with the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra and Trondheim Symphony Orchestra, where she has just been appointed chief conductor.