Sándor Károlyi’s recent highlights have included his debuts in Finland with Julian Rachlin, Sarah McElravy and the Turku Philharmonic Orchestra and in Madrid with the Wiener Concert-Verein performing works by Penderecki, Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert. From September 2023 he will be 2nd Kapellmeister at the Staatstheater Nürnberg conducting and leading several opera productions.

Károlyi shows a particular affinity with Mozart’s Operas. He conducted productions of Le Nozze di Figaro at the Theatre in Schaffhausen, Così fan tutte at the Bâtiment des Forces Motrices in Geneva and La Finta Giardiniera at the Konzerthaus in Vienna with the Vienna Philharmonic Summer Academy. As an enthusiast of contemporary repertoire, he conducted first performances of Olszewski’s Blizzard and Berauer’s Fanfare among others.

Laureate of the 2018 International Nino Rota Conducting Competition and semi-finalist in the 2017 Fitelberg Competition, he has worked as an Assistant for Ingo Metzmacher, Gábor Takács-Nagy and Julian Rachlin. He was awarded a bursary from the Eötvös Foundation in Budapest allowing him to attend contemporary music masterclasses conducting music by Kurtág, Boulez, Sibelius and Saariaho.

Operatic engagements include Don Pasquale and Il Barbiere di Siviglia at the Ticino Musica Festival in Lugano and La Cenerentola for The New Generation Festival in Florence. His recent symphonic work includes concerts with Turku Philharmonic Orchestra, Graz Philharmonic Orchestra, Kammerphilharmonie Landshut and Orchestre de Dijon Bourgogne with works by Bartók, Saint-Saëns and Schumann. 

Sándor’s early career began with opportunities assisting for Mahler‘s 2nd Symphony and Honegger Le Roi David with the Musikverein’s esteemed Singverein Choir conducted by Johannes Prinz at Salzburg Festival 2012 and on tour to Japan. Of Swiss, Austrian and Hungarian background, his first musical education was in Geneva where he studied as a pianist, trombonist and singer. He obtained honours in his Bachelor and Masters’ degrees in conducting at MUK and MDW in Vienna. Sándor has been working with Professor and mentor Sophie Rachlin and attended masterclasses with renowned conductors such as Paavo Järvi and Daniele Gatti.