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Masterprize
Tel: +44 (0)20 7233 0111 Masterprize site designed by Room101 Ltd |
MARIN ALSOP
“In an era when great Brahms interpreters are a bit thin on the ground, Alsop
is well on her way to becoming one of the best”. (London Philharmonic/ Royal
festival Hall, January 2000).
Whether conducting the Brahms Requiem with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment on authentic instruments, bringing fresh insights to the symphonies of Beethoven, Brahms, Shostakovich and Mahler, or championing American composers such as Corigliano and Rouse around the world, Alsop's rare talent for communication, her passionate sense of discovery and her clear, fluid technique have won her respect and admiration on both sides of the Atlantic.
Appointed Principal Conductor of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra in Britain from the 2002/ 2003 season, she has been Musical Director of the Colorado Symphony since 1993, where her innovative programming has won several national awards. Alsop's reputation in North America has been secured also through her high-profile guest appearances with orchestras such as Philadelphia, Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, National Symphony (Washington), Minnesota Orchestra, Toronto Symphony, Atlanta, Houston, Cincinnati and Indianapolis, a two-year position as "Creative Conductor Chair" with the St Louis Symphony, and her successful Music Directorship at the Cabrillo Festival of contemporary music. Her debut with the New York Philharmonic in 1999 in their Copland Festival at the Lincoln Center was described by the New York Times as "supple, vibrant, ... an impassioned performance". In 2003 she made her debut with English National Opera, conducting Rigoletto.
Her guesting in Europe has also produced re-invitations from orchestras such as the London Symphony - who also invited her to their Summer residency in Daytona (Florida); London Philharmonic, and Orchestre de Paris, to name but a few. The Bavarian Radio Symphony chose her to share a concert with Lorin Maazel. German appearances included the Rundfunk Sinfonieorchester Berlin, Stuttgart Radio, the Komische Oper in Berlin and the Hamburg Philharmonic. Special chamber orchestra projects have included an opera triple bill with the City of London Sinfonia, which led to their appointing her Principal Guest Conductor, a similar project in the Amsterdam Concertgebouw with the Netherlands Radio Chamber (filmed for Dutch television), and a concert in the Vienna Musikverein of a contemporary score with a film of Joan of Arc. Recent guest appearances have included: City of Birmingham Symphony, BBC Philharmonic, Helsinki Philharmonic, Netherlands Philharmonic, Frankfurt Radio Symphony, Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie, Toulouse Orchestra, BBC Symphony, Bournemouth Symphony, and the Royal Philharmonic. She has also visited Australia to work with, among others, the Sydney Symphony.
As Principal Guest with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra since 1999 she embarked upon a complete Barber orchestral cycle on Naxos, the first disc of which was nominated for a Gramophone Award and a Classical Brit Award. Other recordings include works by Christopher Rouse for Koch with Concordia and for RCA Red Seal with the Colorado Symphony, "Fanfares for the Uncommon Woman" by Joan Tower with the same orchestra on Koch, the first recording of Gershwin's youthful opera Blue Monday with Concordia, and the cover disc of the BBC Music Magazine (Saint-Saens Organ Symphony and Piano Concert no. 2) with the BBC Philharmonic.
Marin Alsop is a native of New York City, attended Yale University, and received her Master's Degree from the Juilliard School. In 1989 she won the coveted Koussevitzky Conducting Prize at the Tanglewood Music Center, where she was a pupil of Leonard Bernstein, Seiji Ozawa, and Gustav Meler. The same year she was a prizewinner at the Leopold Stokowski International Conducting Competition n New York. A violinist by training, in her spare moments she plays jazz violin in her group String Fever, and she continues to mount challenging projects at the Lincoln Center with her contemporary/jazz orchestra Concordia.
SIR JOHN ELIOT GARDINER
Sir John Eliot Gardiner, acknowledged as a key figure in the early music
revival, has consistently gone against the prevailing orthodoxy through his
particular combination of scholarship and inspired musicianship. He is the
founder and artistic director of the Monteverdi Choir, the English Baroque
Soloists and the Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique. Gardiner appears
regularly as guest conductor with the Vienna Philharmonic and the London
Symphony Orchestra. He was principal conductor of the NDR Sinfonieorchester
in Hamburg for four years, and music director of the Opéra de Lyon, whose
orchestra he founded, from 1982 until 1988.
After completing the cycle of Mozart's seven mature operas in 1995 (all of them recorded for Deutsche Grammophon's Archiv label), Sir John Eliot Gardiner dedicated the summer of 1996 to Beethoven's Leonore, which was recorded for Archiv and performed throughout Europe, including the Salzburg Festival, and at the inaugural Lincoln Center Festival in New York, followed in 1998 by Falstaff. In 1997 he performed (and recorded for Archiv) all the Schumann symphonies and concertos with the Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique, repeating the cycle in New York in 1999. During the course of the year 2000 Gardiner performed all the Church Cantatas of J.S. Bach in churches of 14 European countries to mark the 250th anniversary of the composer's death. Future cycles with the Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique include the complete symphonies of Brahms and the completion of a series of Haydn Masses. In 2001 Gardiner conducted a new production of Jenufa at the Salzburg Festival with the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, with whom he also gave concerts both in Prague and Salzburg.
The extent of his repertoire is illustrated in over 250 recordings made for major European record companies (principally Deutsche Grammophon and Philips Classics) which have received numerous international awards. Over the years, Gardiner has won more Gramophone awards than any other artist, and only Karajan has matched his achievement in winning three awards in one year. He is also in the process of recording the major works by Berlioz for Philips Classics. Weber's Oberon will be recorded in 2002.
In 1987 Sir John Eliot Gardiner received an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Lyon, and in 1996 he was nominated Commandeur dans l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. In 1992 he became an Honorary Fellow of both King's College, London and the Royal Academy of Music. In the 1990 New Year Honours List he was made a CBE, and he was awarded a KBE in the 1998 Queen's Birthday Honours List.
Engagements during the 2001/2 season included a European tour with the London Symphony Orchestra, concerts with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra in Salzburg and with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra in Berlin, Oberon at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris and on tour with the Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique and the Monteverdi Choir, as well as European tours and recordings with the English Baroque Soloists, the Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique and the Monteverdi Choir. He has recorded the major works by Hector Berlioz for Philips Classics, including the first ever recording of the Misse Solennelle.
JOHN HARLE
John Harle is one of the most exciting contemporary musicians in Britain. As
the leading saxophonist of his generation he has a world profile, both in
the wealth of music his playing has inspired and in his own compositions.
His performance of Harrison Birtwistle's Saxophone Concerto Panic at the Last Night of the Proms in 1995 propelled him onto an international stage - followed in 1996 by Terror and Magnificence, his Top Ten hit album on the Decca/Argo label, in collaboration with singer/songwriter Elvis Costello.
His opera, Angel Magick, was commissioned by the BBC Proms in 1998. The librettist, David Pountney, directed the production and the composer conducted the cast of eight singers, his own band, and the viol consort Fretwork.
As a concert soloist his repertoire consists of the sixteen concerti written especially for him, as well as twenty-four further works for orchestra. His recital programmes (usually with the pianist/composer Richard Rodney Bennett) are drawn from some of the thirty-one chamber works dedicated to John and an immensely varied range of music from John Dowland through to Chick Corea and his own compositions.
John Harle is the composer of over 25 concert works and 40 film and television scores. The Stanley Myers/John Harle score to Prick Up Your Ears received Best Artistic Achievement in a Feature Film at the Cannes Film Festival 1988. John has since been nominated for many awards including the Mercury Music Prize and the 1996 Royal Television Society Awards' Best Original Music (for Defence of the Realm). The theme music to the BBC drama Silent Witness was awarded a Royal Television Society Award in 1998.
Important collaborations in concert, recording or film have been with Ute Lemper, Paul McCartney, Michael Nyman, Andy Sheppard and Elvis Costello; and with conductors Riccardo Chailly, Michael Tilson-Thomas, Andrew Davis, Neville Marriner, Elgar Howarth and Frans Welser-Möst.
In 1989 John Harle was appointed Professor of Saxophone and Chamber Music at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London and has been the mentor to a new generation of saxophonists.
As performer, composer and producer his discography numbers some thirty-five recordings on labels including Decca, Argo, EMI Classics, Sony, Hyperion, BMG, Virgin and A&M. A CD of his own music Silencium was released on the Argo label in 1997. He recently produced Lesley Garrett's new album for BMG, I Will Wait For You and composed the music to the 16-part BBC Television series A History of Britain.
JON LORD
Born in Leicester in 1941, Jon Lord was exposed to music at an early age -
his father played saxophone in a local semi-professional dance band - and
Lord was taking piano lessons by the age of five, which he continued until
he was 17. Lord was also interested in acting and moved to London in 1960 to
attend drama school. By 1963 Lord had formed his first band, The Artwoods,
which played R' n' B - at first quite jazzy, later more heavy - and they
quickly got a record deal with Decca. London based, they gigged non-stop,
and even scraped the bottom of the singles charts in 1966 with a Sam' n'
Dave song, 'I Take What I Want'. They issued an album "Art Gallery" later
that year.
Dissatisfied with the record company's planned changes for the band, Lord left the Artwoods (or by then known as the Valentines Day Massacre) in 1967 to set up another band (Santa Barbara Machine Head) with Ronnie Wood. Having cut three tracks for producer Gus Dungeon they split and by late 1967 Lord had approached Ritchie Blackmore and the foundations for Deep Purple were in place. Lord and drummer Ian Plaice are the only two founder members to have stayed with Deep Purple from their first huge US hit single "Hush" in 1968, through their glory years to become one of the biggest rock bands on the planet by the time they split in 1976.
In 1969, Lord completed his first work for orchestra - the Concerto for Group and Orchestra - which was performed on September 24th of that year by Deep Purple and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Malcolm Arnold. Encouraged by its success, Lord embarked on a number of solo projects during his time with the band. He recorded three rock/orchestral pieces - 'The Gemini Suite' (a BBC commission performed live in 1970 in the Royal Festival Hall with the BBC Concert Orchestra and later recorded by the LSO, both with Malcolm Arnold), 'Windows' (recorded live in Germany with the Munich Chamber Opera Orchestra under Eberhard Schoener), and 'Sarabande' (a studio recording with the Philharmonia Hungarica, conducted by Eberhard Schoener).
In 1984 Deep Purple reunited and their first album together, 'Perfect Strangers', helped them to be named Billboard's biggest grossing US live act in 1985. Since that time Lord has helped guide the band through several rocky patches but since the 'Purpendicular' album was released in 1996, the band have defied the unbelievers by producing some of their best albums and live shows ever.
Up until this point Lord did not have much time to concentrate on solo work but did finally issue a solo album in 1998 entitled 'Pictured Within'. This is a quiet, introspective and strongly autobiographical collection. Recorded with a string quartet it received excellent reviews and entered the classical charts in Germany. This was followed by the restaging of his seminal work for rock group and orchestra, 'The Concerto', at the Royal Albert Hall with the London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Paul Mann. The reaction was so ecstatic and widespread that Deep Purple took this work on the road to Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Japan, Australia, and throughout Europe.
SIR CHARLES MACKERRAS
Born in 1925 of Australian parents in America, Sir Charles Mackerras studied
in Sydney and Prague and made his debut as an opera conductor at Sadler's
Wells. He was First Conductor of the Hamburg Opera (1966-1969) and Musical
Director of both Sadler's Wells (later English National) Opera (1970-77),
and of Welsh National Opera (1987-92), where his notable Janáãek
productions, among many others, were acclaimed. From 1976-79 Sir Charles was
Chief Conductor of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and also conducted the
opening public concert at the Sydney Opera House. Sir Charles is Conductor
Laureate of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Conductor Emeritus of the Welsh
National Opera, Principal Guest Conductor Emeritus of the San Francisco
Opera and from 1998 - 2001, Music Director of the Orchestra of St Luke's,
New York. A specialist in Czech repertory, Sir Charles has been appointed
Principal Guest Conductor of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, following his
life-long association with both the orchestra and many aspects of Czech
musical life.
Sir Charles has undertaken much research into performance practice of the 18th and 19th centuries. One of the highlights of the 1991 season was the re-opening of the Estates Theatre in Prague, scene of the original premiere of 'Don Giovanni'. Sir Charles conducted a new production of that opera to mark the bi-centenary of Mozart's death. He has recorded all Mozart's symphonies and serenades with the Prague Chamber Orchestra, and 'Die Zauberflöte', 'Cosí fan tutte', 'Le Nozze di Figaro' and 'Don Giovanni' with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra (following performances at the Edinburgh International Festival). At the 1999 Edinburgh Festival, Sir Charles conducted the Scottish Chamber Orchestra in Handel's 'Saul' and a series of Schumann's orchestral works, in 2000 he conducted the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra in concerts and ballets by Jiri Kylian and in 2001 he conducted 'Idomeneo' (which was also recorded for EMI), 'Messiah' and a Berlioz evening.
His vast discography includes an award-winning cycle of Janáãek operas with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Benjamin Britten's 'Gloriana' (awarded Gramophone magazine's 'Best Opera Recording' for 1994) and Dvorák's 'Rusalka' with the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra (awarded Gramophone magazine's 'Best Opera Recording', and 'Best Recording of the Year', the Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik, Prix Cæcilia and Edison Award for 1999). Notable are his recordings with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra of Beethoven's and Mahler's Symphonies and more recently, Brahms' Four Symphonies with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. He has now embarked on a Dvorák series with the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra starting with a very successful CD of Dvorák's 'Slavonic Dances'.
Sir Charles has for many years been associated with the Royal Opera House and he returned to Covent Garden in 2000 to conduct 'Roméo et Juliette' and Martinu's 'T 'The Greek Passion'. Mostly recently, he returned to Covent Garden to conduct 'The Bartered Bride' and 'Don Giovanni'. In addition to his many appearances with the San Francisco Opera, he conducts regularly at the Metropolitan Opera, New York where his recent appearances include 'The Makropulos Case', 'Kát's Kabanová', 'Die Zauberflöte', 'Lucia di lammermoor' and 'Hä und Gretel'. He made one of his many visits to Australia in 1998 to conduct Opera Australia in a new production of 'Jenufa'. He made his debut at the Salzberg Festival conducting hugely successful performances of 'Le Nozze di Figaro' with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and he returned in 2000 to conduct the Orchestra again in Cherubini's 'Medée'.
Sir Charles received a CBE in 1974 and was knighted in 1979 for his services to music. In 1996 he received The Medal of Merit from the Czech Republic and in 1997 he was made a Companion of the Order of Australia. He is a DMus (Hon) of the Universities of Hull, York, Nottingham, Brno in the Czech Republic, Griffith in Brisbane, Australia, Oxford, Napier and the Prague Academy of Music. He is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Music, Royal Academy of Music, Trinity College of Music (London), Saint Peter's College (Oxford) and the Royal Northern College of Music. Sir Charles celebrated his seventieth birthday in 1995 with gala concerts with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra in Edinburgh, Welsh National Opera in Cardiff and with San Francisco Opera. His seventy-fifth birthday in 2000 was also celebrated with San Francisco Opera conducting performances of 'Der Rosenkavalier' and 'Semele'. The year 2000 also celebrated Sir Charles' 50 years with the Welsh National Opera. He celebrated his seventy-sixth birthday with performances of Smetana's 'Bartered Bride' at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden and a concert of Mozart Masses in Arundel Cathedral.