Anna Handler
Anna Handler | |
|---|---|
 Handler in 2019 | |
| Born | April 16, 1996 Cagnes-sur-Mer, France |
| Occupation(s) | Conductor, pianist |
| Website | annahandler |
Anna Isabella Handler (born 16 April 1996) is a German conductor and concert pianist. Handler is currently assistant conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and chief conductor-designate of the Ulster Orchestra.
Biography
[edit]Handler was born to a German father and a Colombian mother in Cagnes-sur-Mer, France, where her parents worked as engineers. She grew up in Munich, Germany, and initially formed a singing duo with her younger sister Laura. Handler studied piano and conducting with Ingrid Fliter at the Accademia Pianistica di Imola,[1] with Adrian Oetiker at the University of Music and Performing Arts Munich,[2] with Henri Sigfridsson at the Folkwang University of the Arts in Essen,[3] with Nicolás Pasquet and Ekhart Wycik at the University of Music Franz Liszt Weimar,[3] and with Pavel Gililov at the Musikakademie in Liechtenstein.[citation needed]
Handler and her sister Laura have performed as a piano-violin duo. Handler founded the ensemble Enigma Classica in 2019.[4] Musical projects by Handler and Enigma Classica have included collaborations with such musicians as Arabella Steinbacher, Daniel Müller-Schott, and Sabine Meyer, as well as an interdisciplinary project on music education, featuring real-time generative video animation at the Young Artist Festival Bayreuth in August 2022.[3] Her work has garnered her the Maria Ladenburger Förderpreis. She has also served as an conducting assistant at the Bayerische Staatsoper, working with Oksana Lyniv on such productions as Eva und Adam, which premiered as part of the 2019 Munich Opera Festival.[5] She made her Salzburg Festival conducting debut in 2022 with Káťa Kabanová, and returned in subsequent years for Ravel's L'enfant et les sortilèges (2023) and Orff's Die Kluge (2024).
Handler continued her music studies in the USA at the Juilliard School, where her teachers included David Robertson. She was awarded the Juilliard Kovner Fellowship for outstanding students of classical music, the first conducting student to receive the fellowship. She graduated from Juilliard in 2023 with an MM (Master of Music) degree.[6] Handler subsequently became a Dudamel Conducting Fellow with the Los Angeles Philharmonic for the 2023-2024 season.[7][6] In September 2024, Handler became assistant conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra.[8] She made her Tanglewood Festival conducting debut with the orchestra in August 2025,[9] and her subscription concert debut with the orchestra at Symphony Hall (Boston) in November 2025.[10]
In September 2025, Handler first guest-conducted the Ulster Orchestra. In November 2025, the orchestra announced the appointment of Handler as its next chief conductor, effective with the 2026-2027 season, with an initial contract of three years.[11] Handler is the second female conductor to be named chief conductor of the Ulster Orchestra.
Honours and awards
[edit]- 2018: Prizewinner of the International Hans von Bülow Competition (in the discipline "Conducting from the piano")
- 2019: Rising Star Award from the European Cultural Foundation Europamusicale[3]
- 2020: Maria-Ladenburger-Förderpreis[3]
- 2023: Juilliard Kovner Fellowship
External links
[edit]- Official website of Anna Handler
- Dorn Music agency page on Anna Handler
- Anna Handler at Operabase
- Juilliard School, 'Kovner Fellowship Alumni'
- Anna Handler: Appreciation on YouTube, TV UNAM, Mexico, June 2023 (Interview; Spanish with English subtitles)
- Anna Handler: Conversando on YouTube, Amigos OFUNAM, 2022 (Interview; Spanish)
Video recordings
[edit]- Johann Strauss II: Die Fledermaus (Overture), Johannes Brahms: Tragic Overture, Zoltán Kodály: Dances of Galánta, Finale. The Juilliard Orchestra, conducted by Anna Handler. Alice Tully Hall, New York 2022/2023. Video on YouTube (13:42 min)
- Giuseppe Verdi: La forza del destino, Overture. Allegra Festival & Academy, conducted by Anna Handler, Bulgaria Hall, Sofia, July 22, 2022. Video on YouTube (9:00 min)
- Edvard Grieg: Violin Sonata No. 3 in C minor, Op. 45. Anna Handler (piano), Laura Handler (violin). Siemensvilla, Berlin, 2021. Video on YouTube (15:53 min)
- Antonín Dvořák: Silent Woods for cello and orchestra, Op. 68/5. Enigma Classica, Anna Handler (piano), Laura Moinian (cello). München, 2021. Video on YouTube (6:01 min)
- Johannes Brahms: Variations on a Theme of Schumann, Op. 9. Anna Handler (piano). Siemens Villa Berlin, 2021. Video on YouTube (19:09 min)
- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 23, KV 488, 1st movement (allegro). Enigma Classica ensemble, Anna Handler (piano). München, 2019. Video on YouTube (11:17 min)
- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 23, KV 488, 2nd movement (adagio). Enigma Classica ensemble, Anna Handler (piano). München, 2019. Video on YouTube (5:52 min)
- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 23, KV 488, 3rd movement (allegro). Enigma Classica ensemble, Anna Handler (piano). München, 2019. Video on YouTube (8:14 min)
References
[edit]- ^ "Anna Handler alla Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO)". Accademia Pianistica di Imola. 2024-02-09. Retrieved 2024-02-21.
- ^ "Anna Handler, piano". lvivmozart.com. Retrieved 2024-02-21.
- ^ a b c d e Rabinowitz, Chloe (2024-02-08). "Boston Symphony Orchestra Appoints Anna Handler as New Assistant Conductor". BroadwayWorld. Retrieved 2024-02-21.
- ^ Victoria Looseleaf (2023-07-25). "Rising Conductor Anna Handler Is Already at Home on the World's Stages". San Francisco Classical Voice. Retrieved 2025-11-28.
- ^ Danielle Meath (2025-02-03). "Meet the Conductor: Anna Handler". Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra & Music School. Retrieved 2025-11-28.
- ^ a b "Recent Orchestral Appointments". Juilliard Journal. 2024-02-15. Retrieved 2025-11-28.
- ^ Michael Zweibach (2023-07-25). "LA Phil Bulks Up With New Batch of Dudamel Fellows". San Francisco Classical Voice. Retrieved 2025-11-28.
- ^ "Boston Symphony appoints Anna Handler as Assistant Conductor". Pizzicato. 2024-02-09. Retrieved 2024-02-21.
- ^ Steven Ledbetter (2025-08-23). "Handler Debuts Brilliantly with the BSO". The Boston Musical Intelligencer. Retrieved 2025-11-28.
- ^ John Tamilio III (2025-08-23). "From Russia (and England) with Love". The Boston Musical Intelligencer. Retrieved 2025-11-28.
- ^ "Anna Handler to become new Chief Conductor of the Ulster Orchestra" (Press release). 27 November 2025. Retrieved 2025-11-28.
