Ewald Danel, a native of Horní Suchá, studied violin and conducting at the Ostrava Conservatory and the Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava. He completed a conducting course with Professor Karel Österreicher and a doctoral study with Prof. Bohdan Warchal. After graduating, he worked for two years as concertmaster in the Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Slovak National Theatre Orchestra. Since 1985, he has been the concertmaster of the Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra, with which he also collaborates as a soloist and conductor. In 2001, he took over the post of artistic director of the Slovak Chamber Orchestra from Bohdan Warchal. Since 2008, he has also been the principal guest conductor of the Hiroshima Symphony Orchestra.
He has performed on concert stages in many European countries and overseas (Japan, Korea, Egypt, Panama, Brazil, USA). He has long-term collaborations with the Orquestra Sinfonica Municipal Sao Paulo, Hiroshima Symphony Orchestra, Akita Chamber Orchestra, Tokyo Harmonia Chamber Orchestra, and has also collaborated with Klang Verwaltung München, Orchestra Ensemble Kanazawa, Nagoya Philharmonic Orchestra, Osaka Symphoniker, Sakata Philharmony, Prague Chamber Philharmonic, Orquesta Filarmónica de Málaga, Janáček Philharmonic Ostrava, etc.
In addition to his conducting activities and solo performances with orchestras and solo recitals, he has extensive experience in the field of chamber music, especially as the primarius of the Slovak Quartet since 1986, and since 1987 as a co-founder of the Slovak Piano Trio. In 1992–1996 he worked as the artistic director of the Bratislava chamber orchestra Cappella Istropolitana. He has also participated in various projects of chamber ensembles at home and abroad. A significant part of his artistic activity is long-term cooperation with church and amateur choirs and musical ensembles in the role of conductor, organizer and author of sacred music.
In 2012, he was awarded the Sebastian Prize for his outstanding contribution to the legacy of J. S. Bach. He worked as a teacher at the Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava from 1987 to 1998, and from 1999 he worked for six years as a visiting professor at the Aichi Prefectural University of Fine Arts and Music in Nagoya, Japan. In 2001, he led interpretation master classes for professional orchestral players at the Affinis Music Festival in Japan.
As the artistic director of the Slovak Chamber Orchestra, he has implemented a number of interesting projects, has discovered previously unperformed works of world music literature for the Slovak audience, and has been significantly involved in presenting new works by Slovak authors. He initiated a cycle of concerts in churches, and this season he has come up with the idea of concerts for disabled listeners.
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