Biography
Metropolitan Opera Debut
Samuel Cristler made his Metropolitan Opera debut on March 11, 1992, conducting Verdi's Don Carlo, coinciding with the opera's 125th anniversary of its world premiere in Paris. This marked the start of a partnership with the MET that would change his life.
Special Honor
"Live from Lincoln Center" Broadcast: Samuel Cristler appeared as both harpsichordist and conductor for the world premiere of John Corigliano's The Ghosts of Versailles at the MET, broadcast live on PBS.
Symphonic Repertoire
Mr. Cristler built a notable career in symphonic repertoire, showcasing his talents through concerts in North America and Europe. At 28 years old, he founded Sinfonia Concertante, which later became Sinfonia San Francisco. The orchestra rose to prominence as the Bay Area's leading chamber orchestra, earning broadcasts on National Public Radio. During his final year with Sinfonia San Francisco, the ensemble was distinguished with a rare grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.
Unique Performances
During his time in San Francisco, Mr. Cristler curated a series of distinctive performances, including:
Shostakovich's avant-garde opera, "The Nose"
A benefit performance of Bach's "Saint Matthew Passion" for Grace Cathedral, generously hosted by the Hewlett family
A pioneering educational concert for kids at the Stern Grove festival, marking the event's first-ever kid-friendly show
Champion of New Works
Cristler actively promoted Bay Area composers, such as Andrew Imbrie, Alan Cox, and Gordon Getty, and showcased emerging talent by programming student composers' works. Mr. Cristler also led several Bay Area premieres, including:
Prokofiev's opera "The Love for Three Oranges"
Shostakovich's "The Nose"
Kurt Weill's works
- Schoenberg/Riehn's orchestration of Mahler's "Das Lied von der Erde"
Aribert Reimann, the genius German composer who was a child in Berlin during the Allies’ bombing in World War II, wrote a six minute work for unaccompanied cello “dedicated to Samuel Cristler”, and published by Schott. It became required repertoire for the Munich international cello competition.
California Music Directorships
During his California tenure, Mr. Cristler held key positions, including:
- Music Director of West Bay Opera
- Music Director of the Oakland Orchestra
- Also called the savior of the Oakland Symphony Chorus, which he helped preserve during the Oakland Symphony's financial crisis
Pianist and Multilingual Artist
Multifaceted artist Mr. Cristler is a self-taught pianist, showcased through critically acclaimed song recitals in San Francisco, as well as a Live From Lincoln Center broadcast, in which he appeared as harpsichordist and conductor. He speaks German, French, and Italian, with proficiency in Russian, Hebrew, and Arabic. He resides in New York City.
Memorable Appearance
In a prestigious collaboration, Samuel Cristler was honored to join Maestro John Williams on the podium for the Lynn Harrell Memorial concert in Los Angeles, a performance broadcast live online featuring an all-star lineup including Anne-Sophie Mutter, Christine Brewer, Rod Gilfrey, Yefim Bronfman, Nokuthula Ngwenyama, and Cristler.
Special Opportunity
Cristler had the honor of substituting for Maestro Mstislav Rostropovich, leading 100 cellists at the International Cello Congress.
NOTABLE MET ENGAGEMENTS
All sold-out performances:
- Verdi's Don Carlo
- Verdi's Aida
- Verdi’s La Traviata
- Puccini's Madama Butterfly
- Corigliano’s The Ghosts of Versailles, stage conductor and harpsichord (broadcast on “Live From Lincoln Center"
- also served as cover-conductor for multiple productions
International Engagements
Israel: Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro
Spain: Richard Strauss' Salomé
Deutsche Oper Berlin: Verdi's Aida
New York City Appearances
Mr. Cristler's New York City career milestones include:
Invited to make his cello debut in 1980 at the esteemed Frick Collection
Engaged to conduct at the Manhattan School of Music
Promoted to take the podium at the Metropolitan Opera
Sinfonia San Francisco
At age 28, Mr. Cristler was standing in the Main Hall of the Eastman School of Music, where he was teaching cello, and had premonition that he would win a cello position with the newly formed San Francisco Opera Orchestra and that a colleague would organize a chamber orchestra and invite him to conduct. It all came to pass precisely as in that split-second vision, and thus was born an extraordinary ensemble comprised of leading musicians from the San Francisco Symphony, Opera and Ballet Orchestras gathered together to perform on Mondays, their collective night off.
A year later, Cristler secured the initial funding from the distinguished Heineman Foundation in NYC, and successfully guided the orchestra to maturity.
Samuel Cristler conducting ZEFFIRELLI’s production of VERDI's LA TRAVIATA at the Metropolitan Opera featuring Veronica Villarroel as Violetta, Sherrill Milnes as Giorgio Germont, and Neil Rosenshein as Alfredo in this performance
Early Career
Samuel Cristler's musical career began as a cellist with the Phoenix Symphony at just 17. It was during this time that he had the privilege of performing with the renowned tenor, Richard Tucker, whose performance sparked his passion to study operatic repertoire. At 20, he toured North America playing cello solos for Rudolf Nureyev and, that summer, he was appointed the first student cellist in the Aspen Festival Orchestra. At twenty-one, he became the youngest member of the Pittsburgh Symphony under Music Director Dr. William Steinberg. Three years later he joined the Eastman faculty and became principal cellist of the Rochester Philharmonic. While there, he also appeared as soloist in virtually the entire standard cello concerto repertoire, he recorded the cello solo in Beethoven’s Creatures of Prometheus with Maestro David Zinman conducting. He also performed the cello solo in
Brahms’ 2nd Piano Concerto with pianist Eugene Istomin view here. In 1980, the Frick Collection invited Mr. Cristler to preform his New York recital debut. His program included Elliot Carter’s Cello Sonata, Brahms’ Cello Sonata in F Major, George Rochberg’s Ricordanza and its companion opus, Beethoven’s Sonata No. 4 in C, opus 102, No. 1.