Karl-Heinz Steffens began his career as a clarinetist, performing as principal clarinet with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, and he worked with such conductors as Lorin Maazel, Kurt Masur, and Colin Davis. Steffens is the music director of the Rheinland-Pfalz Staatsphilharmonie and of the Norwegian National Opera and Ballet in Oslo. He has also conducted at Teatro alla Scala, the Berlin State Opera, and the Zurich Opera, and appeared as a guest conductor with the Philharmonia Orchestra, the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra, the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, the Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, and the Hallé Orchestra, among many others. His recordings have been released on Capriccio Records, Tudor Records, CPO, Coviello Classics, and Berlin Classics.