From Schubert's Die Schöne Müllerin and the Passions of J.S. Bach to the operas of John Adams, American baritone Sanford Sylvan displays a remarkable range of vocal expression and communicative power. On the concert stage and in recordings, his radiantly pure, lyric tone, clarity of diction and profound understanding of both words and music speak directly and intimately to his audience.
Deeply committed to the art of the vocal recital, Mr. Sylvan and his long-time collaborator, pianist David Breitman, have performed extensively throughout the United States and Europe, in major venues in London, New York, Washington, Boston, Philadelphia and San Francisco. Their recitals and recordings have earned exceptional praise from critics and audiences, including three Grammy nominations for Best Classical Vocal Performance.
In the realm of opera, Mr. Sylvan is an acclaimed Mozartean. His portrayals of Figaro in Le Nozze di Figaro and Don Alfonso in Cosi fan tutte have been seen internationally, including PBS "Great Performances." He has been much acclaimed for the role of Leoprello in Don Giovanni, which he sang for his Glyndebourne Festival debut 1994 and with New York City Opera where he has since become a regular performer in such operas as The Magic Flute, Ariodante, The Rape of Lucretia and most recently Handel's Semele. Sanford Sylvan has become closely associated with the productions of renowned directors: Peter Sellars in works of John Adams, Mozart and Stravinsky; Robert Wilson in Virgil Thomson's Four Saints in Three Acts as well as Sir Peter Hall and Andrei Serban. He has developed longstanding relationships with major composers who have written for him: John Adams' Nixon In China (Chou En-Lai), the title role of The Death of Klinghoffer and The Wound Dresser; and numerous works of John Harbison. He was in the US premiere of The Lighthouse by Peter Maxwell Davies, the world premiere of Philip Glass' The Juniper Tree, and sang Sir Michael Tippett's The Ice Break at the BBC Proms, recorded for Virgin Classics. In March 2004 he sang his first Wotan in Wagner's Die Walküre; a Christopher Alden condensed production with New York's Eos Orchestra. 2004 also brought the premiere of the film of John Adams' The Death of Klinghoffer in which he portrays the title role. The film received much acclaim and numerous internaitonal awards including a Grammy nomination. In summer 2005 he made an acclaimed Gilmmerglass Opera debut as Don Alfonso in Mozart's Cosi fan tutte.
Sanford Sylvan has performed with many of the leading orchestras of the world including the New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony, Detroit Symphony, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Orchestra of St. Luke's, Royal Concertgebouworkest, London Symphony, BBC Symphony, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, the Tonhalle Orchestra of Zurich, Academy of Ancient Music, Melbourne Symphony, Australian Chamber Orchestra and the NHK (Japanese Broadcasting Corporation) Symphony. He has collaborated with such conductors as Simon Rattle, James Levine, Christoph von Dohnanyi, Herbert Blomstedt, Christopher Hogwood, Kent Nagano, Helmuth Rilling, Bruno Weil , Roger Norrington, and Edo De Waart, among many others. The Los Angeles Philharmonic commissioned Steven Stucky's American Muse for him, the premiere conducted by Esa Pekka Salonen. Again with Maestro Salonen and the LA Philharmonic, he sang Haydn's Creation for the first week of subscription concerts in their new Walt Disney Concert Hall in fall 2004. Recent performances include Schoenberg's Moses und Aron with the Boston Symphony under James Levine and Handel's Messiah with the Pittsburgh Symphony. In spring 2007 he will sing the world premiere of Christopher Rouse's Reqiem with the Los Angeles Master Chorale, which will be recorded for Telarc.
Sylvan's festival appearances have included the Edinburgh, Tanglewood, Vienna, Holland, Schleswig-Holstein and Ojai,.. He has longstanding relationships with the Carmel Bach Festival and the New England Bach Festival where he performs annually. In 2003, he made his debut with the Oregon Bach Festival under Helmuth Rilling, where he returned this summer. As a chamber musician he has performed, toured and recorded with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Music from Marlboro, , the Sarasa Chamber Music Ensemble, Ensemble Sequentia, Emmanuel Music and the Boston Symphony Chamber Players with whom he recorded John Harbison's Words from Paterson.
Sanford Sylvan's recordings are known throughout the world and appear on the Nonesuch, Decca, Harmonia Mundi, Musicmasters, Bridge, Koch, Virgin Classics, New World and CRI labels. A Grammy and Emmy Award winner for his role in John Adams' Nixon In China, he has received Grammy nominations for his recording with David Breitman, L'Horizon Chimérique which features chanson of Gabriel Fauré, Beloved That Pilgrimage, a program of American songs with music by Barber, Copland and Chanler, and for John Adams' The Wound Dresser. A new recording of Bach with the Sarasa Ensemble was released in spring 2006.
Sanford Sylvan