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Where is Stéphane Denève now?
He had big shoes to fill. When conductor Stéphane Denève took the helm of the Brussels Philharmonic in 2015, he was following in the footsteps of Michel Tabachnik. A music director who had steered the orchestra through turbulent organizational times behind the scenes and provided a powerful shot of musical adrenaline.
Denève quickly conducted his way into the hearts of Brussels audiences. With his trademark curls and wonderfully jovial manner, he made a point of addressing the audience before concerts to explain his choices. He brought the role of conductor down from its ivory tower, presenting himself as an approachable maestro. He engaged in dialogue with listeners, made time for pre-concert panel discussions, and could often be found chatting in the Flagey bar or at Les Variétés restaurant afterwards.
His mark on the orchestra, of course, went far beyond his personality. Denève continued along the path set out by Tabachnik – with a focus on contemporary music and the French repertoire – but unmistakably added his own accents. New composers were added to the address book; new music appeared on the music stands. His interpretations were always full of colour and storytelling flair. Under Denève, the orchestra also celebrated several significant firsts: in 2017, for instance, the Brussels Philharmonic performed for the first time during the final week of the Queen Elisabeth Competition, which was devoted to the cello that year.
If Tabachnik had brought about a seismic shift, Denève was the man who brought stability. After two terms, this rewarding partnership came to an end in 2022. Both sides agreed that the time had come for something new. But we have kept a close eye on our former music director ever since. So how has he been faring over the past few years…?
Making waves across the Atlantic
Alongside his time with us, Denève was already working as principal guest conductor in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – home to one of America’s ‘Big Five’ orchestras. He has remained highly active in the United States ever since. From 2019 until the current season, he was music director in St Louis, Missouri, where he also lives.
In 2022, he also took up a position with the New World Symphony. The Miami-based orchestral academy was founded in the late 1980s by composer and conductor Michael Tilson Thomas and is regarded as one of the leading training grounds for orchestral talent in the United States. Denève describes his work there as "a source of infinite joy, inspiration and hope." A joy he gets to experience for several more years: his contract was recently extended through the 2030–31 season.
Dipping a toe into ballet and opera
However settled Denève may be in the land of the free, he has not let go of the Low Countries either. Since 2023, he has been a guest conductor with the Radio Filharmonisch Orkest in Hilversum, the media hub of our northern neighbours. Strikingly, in recent years he has conducted a number of operas there (including concert performances) as well as ballet music.
One of Denève’s first professional steps, after all, was as assistant to Georges Prêtre at the Opéra National de Paris. In the early years of his career, he still regularly descended into the opera pit. He made his Covent Garden debut with a production of Mozart’s Così fan tutte, conducted Berlioz in Bologna, and led La Traviata at La Monnaie. Across the Atlantic, too, Denève is known as an opera conductor, with appearances in Cincinnati and Santa Fe among others.
In recent years, however, this repertoire seemed to have taken something of a back seat. The fact that he is now returning to it in the Netherlands is intriguing, to say the least. In 2022, he performed La Tragédie de Salomé with the RFO, ballet music by the now largely forgotten French composer Florent Schmitt – an inspiration for The Rite of Spring. More recently, at a matinee at Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, Denève turned to Gounod’s Faust. Could we soon be seeing Denève back in the opera pit more often?
From global stages
with the occasional landing in Brussels
Alongside his many regular commitments, Denève is increasingly invited to step into the symphonic pantheon. The globe-trotting conductor’s dizzying CV features almost all the great names: the Orchestra Sinfonica dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, the Wiener Symphoniker, the New York Philharmonic and LA Phil, Tokyo’s NHK Symphony Orchestra, and the São Paulo Symphony Orchestra. More recently, Denève made his debut with the Berliner Philharmoniker, celebrated New Year with the Orchestre National de France, and appeared at the legendary Carnegie Hall for the first time.
Fortunately, Denève’s incredibly busy diary still leaves room for the occasional return to Flagey. After a few years away, Stéphane came home to Studio 4 in 2026, and another welcome reunion is already on the schedule for the coming concert season: Clyne & Mussorgsky on 13 March.
Jasper Croonen
Clyne & Mussorgsky · 30.10.2026 · Flagey
Former music director Stéphane Denève returns to Brussels, bringing two brand-new works from his new home country, America. He pairs the contemporary music of Kevin Puts and Anna Clyne with Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition – an iconic masterpiece that Denève has never performed before with the Brussels Philharmonic.
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