Three women conductors make their debut with the Berlin Phil

In the coming weeks, the Berlin Philharmonic will welcome three women conductors to its podium—each making her debut with the orchestra.
On February 20, 21, and 22, Marin Alsop will take the stage, leading a program centered on nature and its beauty. The concert will feature a world premiere by Finnish composer Outi Tarkiainen, alongside works by Brett Dean, Aaron Copland, and Heitor Villa-Lobos.
Following her, on February 27, 28, and March 1, Dalia Stasevska will make her debut with the orchestra, conducting a program that includes music by Jean Sibelius, Edvard Grieg, Kaija Saariaho, and Claude Debussy.
Finally, on March 6, 7, and 8, Joana Mallwitz will step onto the Philharmonie stage. The program will feature pianist Anna Vinnitskaya as the soloist in Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 3, along with works by Prokofiev, Hindemith, and Ravel.
Mallwitz is already well known to Berlin audiences, as she has been the chief conductor and artistic director of the Berlin Konzerthaus Orchestra since 2023. Last year, she and the orchestra released an album dedicated to Kurt Weill, which received high praise from critics.

A Look Back
The first woman to conduct the Berlin Philharmonic was Antonia Brico, who led the orchestra in 1930. However, it would take decades before the orchestra welcomed its first female musician. In 1982, Madeleine Carruzzo became the first woman to join its ranks as a violinist.