He was born in Arys in East Prussia, and after early work at the Berlin Städtische Oper, left for Russia in 1936, where he worked with the Moscow Radio Symphony Orchestra. From 1942 to 1960 he was joint pricipal conductor (with Evgeny Mravinsky) of the Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra. He then returned to Germany (now East Germany) where he conducted the East Berlin Symphony Orchestra and the Dresden Staatskapelle. He made his British debut in 1970, becoming particularly associated with the Philharmonia (he was eventually appointed their Conductor Emeritus). In 2002, he announced his retirement.
Kurt Sanderling is the father of Thomas Sanderling, also a conductor.