Nabil Shehata
“An honest sound is created when the conductor gives the orchestra the feeling that ‘we are making chamber music together’. Then conductor and orchestra merge and there is this wow effect.”
Nabil Shehata, BBC Music Award for the best orchestral recording (12|2021)
“Giving space to music” runs like a thread through Nabil Shehata’s life, both literallyand figuratively.
As a nine-year-old, the double bass opens the door to, in his words,“the most beautiful repertoire there is”– namely that of classical music. As a young person, he feels the growing desire to be involved in this music as a conductor. Shehata follows this impulse, gives up his position as principal bass player of the Berliner Philharmoniker and has since successfully embarked on a career as aconductor.
A critic recently wrote that he conducts with “authority full of ease” anobservation that corresponds precisely with what Shehata is aiming for. “It is aboutresonating with each other. This is what creates music. This is what I want to achievewith orchestras”. Shehata has developed a conducting style that is closely related tochamber music making, because he is convinced that “this is how music is createdthat can achieve what audiences, orchestras, and conductors alike desire:unforgettable concert experiences!”. The BBC Music Magazine honoured Nabil Shehata’s realisation of this intention bypresenting him with the BBC Music Award for the best orchestral recording 12|2021.
Nabil Shehata’s career began as principal bass player with the Staatskapelle Berlinand the Berlin Philharmonic. As a conductor, he has been mentored and taught by Christian Thielemann, Rolf Reuter and Lawrence Forster, among others. He was chief conductor of Philharmonie Südwestfalen from 2019 to 2024 and has recently conducted as a guest, among other ensembles, the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, the Stuttgart Philharmonic, the Munich Radio Orchestra, the Robert Schumann Philharmonic, and the Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra. Not long ago, he made his conducting debut with great success at the sold-out Elbphilharmonie. Prior to his current position, he was the chief conductor at the Munich Chamber Opera, and broadened his experience at the Berlin State Opera as an assistant to Daniel Barenboim. As a professor of double bass in Munich and Berlin, as well as amember of the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, he has passed on his experience to younger musicians for many years.
In his hometown of Verden, Shehata founded the“Maiklänge” chamber music festival, which is a heart felt project for him to organize high-quality concerts where he grew up.