Pannon Philharmonic

Having studied piano, composition and conducting at the Music High School in Brasov and 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. Cristian Mandeal served as Artistic Director with the Euskadi Symphony - National Basque Orchestra between 1999 and 2007 (for a total of seven seasons). He has also worked as Artistic Director of the Symphony Orchestra in Haifa in Israel and Resident conductor of the “Haydn” Orchestra di Bolzano e Trento in Italy. 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. He is currently Principal Guest Conductor of the Copenhagen Philharmonic.
Cristian Mandeal has been a frequent guest with orchestras including the Staatskapelle Dresden and Berlin, Münchener Philharmoniker, Hessisches Rundfunk Orchester, Bayerisches Rundfunk Orchester, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC Scottish Symphony, RTE National Symphony Orchestra, Czech Philharmonic, Israel Philharmonic, Japan Philharmonic, Orchestre Nationale de Belgique, Santa Cecilia di Roma, Vienna State Opera, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Orchestra National de Cataluna, and the Gulbenkian Orchestra. During the 2010/11 season, Cristian Mandeal will conduct Trovatore at Belgrade National Theatre, return to the Halle Orchestra for several weeks, and also return to Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. He will also make his debut with the Warsaw Philharmonic and the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra in Canada. He has collaborated with renowned soloists such as Radu Lupu, Maxim Vengerov, Mstislav Rostropovich and Ileana Cotrubas.
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” International Festival in Bucharest, for which he was Artistic Director in 2001 and 2003. Over the years he has worked at the Autumn Festival in Prague, and the Bloomington Festival in the USA along with many others. At the Edinburgh Festival in 2002 Cristian Mandeal 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 Cagliari, Sardinia.