Nathalie Stutzmann on barriers she faced, her joy to be ASO music director

THE ARTS IN ATLANTA by MARK THOMAS KETTERSON·OCTOBER 4, 2022

The classical music industry has rarely seen the level of excitement generated in the 1980s by the emergence of Nathalie Stutzmann. Here was a gorgeous, true contralto voice, a long-awaited successor to the legendary singers Marian Anderson, Kathleen Ferrier and Maureen Forrester. The buzz got even louder when Stutzmann began to conduct the orchestra in her vocal recitals, notably with her own ensemble, Orfeo 55. 

The level of excitement is even higher (including a recent feature story in The New York Times) as Stutzmann begins her tenure this week as music director for the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra — the first woman to hold that position, and only the second to helm a major American orchestra. FOR MORE