David Robertson rose to prominence in the 21st century among American conductors in his roles as music director of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and as principal guest conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra. While Robertson's repertory is rich in works by American composers, it also encompasses a range of other music by notable European and Russian composers. He regularly conducts opera and has made recordings for a broad range of labels. In 2021, Robertson earned his second Grammy Award for a production of Gershwin's Porgy and Bess led by Angel Blue and Eric Owens, and in 2023, he was appointed to the newly created position of creative partner with the Utah Symphony.

Robertson was born in Santa Monica, California, on July 19, 1959. In his youth, he studied French horn and violin and first showed an interest in conducting at age 12. At the Royal Academy of Music, he initially studied horn and composition and later took up conducting. Following graduation, he freelanced as a conductor and appeared internationally as a speaker on music topics for the U.S. Information Agency. Robertson's first important conducting post came in 1985 as the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra's resident conductor. He left the position in 1987, and from 1992-2000, he served as music director of the Ensemble InterContemporain in Paris. During his Paris years, he kept active as a freelance conductor in Europe, leading such ensembles as the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin and the Orchestre de Paris, with whom he made his first major recording, Silvestrov Symphony No. 5 and Postludium, for Sony in 1996. Robertson has appeared as a guest conductor with orchestras throughout the world and makes regular appearances at the Metropolitan Opera. Since making his debut at the Met in 1996 with Janácek's Makropulos Affair, he has returned for several productions, including the Met premieres of John Adams' The Death of Klinghoffer and Nico Muhly's Two Boys. Following his departure from the Ensemble Intercontemporain, he served as the music director of the Orchestre National de Lyon from 2000-2004.

Following several guest conducting appearances beginning in 1999, Robertson began his tenure as music director of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra in 2005, and he began serving concurrently as principal guest conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra; he remained with the BBC Symphony until 2012, and the St. Louis Symphony until 2018. Robertson would lead both of these orchestras at the BBC Proms, including the St. Louis Symphony's first visit and the "Last Night of the Proms" with the BBC Symphony in 2012. In 2008, Robertson served as director of two California music festivals: the Concrete Frequency Festival for the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Ojai Music Festival. Robertson won a Grammy Award in 2014 for his recording of John Adam's City Noir with the St. Louis Symphony on Nonesuch. That year, he was named the chief conductor and artistic director of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra; Robertson remained with the Sydney Symphony through the end of 2019.

Robertson was named director of conducting studies, distinguished visiting faculty at Juilliard in 2018, and joined the Tianjin Juilliard Advisory Council in 2019. He has recorded for a variety of labels, including Deutsche Grammophon, EMI, and Harmonia Mundi. In 2019, he led the St. Louis Symphony on a Canary Classics album of Mozart piano concertos, with his wife, pianist Orli Shaham, as the soloist. That year, he was also heard on a live recording from the Met of Gershwin's Porgy and Bess, featuring a cast led by Eric Owens and Angel Blue; this recording earned Robertson his second Grammy Award. He has remained active as a guest conductor around the world, including a debut at Rome Opera in 2022 leading a performance of Janácek's Káta Kabanová. The following year, he was named the creative partner with the Utah Symphony.

Robertson was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and has been named a Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres by the French government. ~ Robert Cummings & Keith Finke, Rovi