ÍøÆغÚÁÏ

Conductor Edward Gardner has specialized by turns in choral music, opera, and orchestral music over his long career. In 2019, he was named principal conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra, beginning in 2021.

Gardner was born in Gloucester, England, on November 22, 1974. His musical experiences began when he became a chorister at Gloucester Cathedral, and he also took lessons on clarinet, piano, and organ. Gardner attended prestigious preparatory schools: King's School in Gloucester and Eton College. He attended King's College, Cambridge, as a choral scholar, singing in the famed King's College Choir. By this time, he was already interested in conducting, and he enrolled at the Royal Academy of Music for conducting studies with Colin Metters, graduating in 2000. From 1997 to 2002, he served as director of the Wokingham Choral Society, a regional post that had already furthered the careers of choral conductor Stephen Layton, among others. In 1997, Gardner filled in as a répétiteur, a rehearsal accompanist and coach, at the Salzburg Festival when the holder of that position fell ill. Soon after that, he became the assistant conductor of the Hallé Orchestra under Mark Elder, and then in 2005, music director of the English National Opera. He remained there until 2015 as his orchestral career continued to develop. In 2007, Gardner made his recording debut with the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, backing soprano Kate Royal on her self-titled album on the EMI label.

Gardner became the principal guest conductor of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra in 2010; his tenure there ended in 2013, but he has continued to make recordings with that group. Gardner took the same position with the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra in Norway in 2013 and was elevated to principal conductor two years later. In 2017, his contract was extended through 2023. His London Philharmonic principal conductor position was announced in 2019 and involved a five-year contract beginning in 2021. With this varied background, Gardner has amassed a large catalog of recordings in both the orchestral and operatic fields. Most of them are of Romantic music or music from the early 20th century, recording mostly for the Chandos label. With the City of Birmingham Symphony, he made an acclaimed series of "Mendelssohn in Birmingham" recordings featuring music that had been conducted by Mendelssohn in that city. In 2019, Gardner began a new series of Schubert symphonies with the City of Birmingham Symphony on Chandos; the second volume in the series appeared in 2020. Gardner remained active through the COVID-19 pandemic, issuing five albums in 2020 alone, with repertory ranging from Schubert to Schoenberg, and four more in 2023. He has issued various albums of Scandinavian repertory with the Bergen Philharmonic, including, in 2024, a recording of Grieg's Symphonic Dances and another of Carl Nielsen's Flute Concerto and Symphony No. 3 ("Sinfonia Espansiva"). Gardner has a son with star trumpeter Alison Balsom. ~ James Manheim

The London Philharmonic Orchestra is a central institution of the British classical concert scene, performing major repertory works, British standards, contemporary music, and more. Especially on recordings, the group has also engaged with music from beyond the classical sphere.

The London Philharmonic Orchestra was formed in 1932 in response to a consensus that London's major orchestras, lacking strong artistic leadership, were inferior to those in Germany and even the U.S. So conductor Sir Thomas Beecham assembled a crack membership of 106 players, and the new orchestra was successful from the start. Beecham steered the group through financial difficulties at the beginning of World War II before resigning for health reasons and due to conflicts over the ensemble's artistic direction. Postwar conductors included Eduard van Beinum (1947 to 1951) and Sir Adrian Boult (1951 to 1958); the latter inaugurated an active recording program, releasing albums that remain standards to this day.

In 1966, Bernard Haitink became the orchestra's principal conductor; his tenure, lasting until 1979, was longer than that of any other conductor of the group until Vladimir Jurowski. The orchestra renovated a disused church, renamed it Henry Wood Hall, and began to use the space for rehearsals and recordings in 1975. Haitink's successor was another giant, Sir Georg Solti, who served as principal conductor from 1979 to 1983 and continued as conductor emeritus afterward, often appearing and recording with the orchestra. Solti was succeeded by a trio of Germans, Klaus Tennstedt in 1983, Franz Welser-Möst in 1990, and Kurt Masur in 2000. Welser-Möst officially installed the orchestra as the resident ensemble of the Royal Festival Hall, which remains its main concert venue.

The orchestra has also had numerous guest conductors over the years, and these have been responsible for many of its crossover releases. Although not as active in this field as the London Symphony Orchestra, the London Philharmonic has made high-visibility film soundtrack recordings. These include soundtracks for such films as Jesus Christ Superstar (1973), The Fly (1986), and the trilogy The Lord of the Rings, as well as the anthology Academy Award Themes (1984). The orchestra has released albums devoted to the music of progressive rock bands Pink Floyd and Yes, and as far back as 1959, it released the album Hawaiian Paradise. In 2011, the London Philharmonic recorded 205 national anthems in preparation for the London Olympic Games of the following year. The orchestra's album releases, classical and otherwise, numbered 280 by 1997 and has increased by well over 250 albums since then; in the year 2001 alone, the orchestra released 21 albums. The London Philharmonic established its own LPO label in the mid-2000s decade and has issued large amounts of music, both classical and not, including Genius of Film Music: Hollywood Blockbusters 1980s to 2000s, in 2018.

In 2007, the London Philharmonic was in the forefront of taking advantage of the wave of talented Russian musicians who had emigrated to the West, installing Vladimir Jurowski as principal conductor. He remained in the post until 2020, becoming the orchestra's longest-serving conductor and leading the group in a 2021 recording of Mahler's Symphony No. 8 ("Symphony of a Thousand"). In 2020, Karina Canellakis became the orchestra's first female principal guest conductor. Jurowski was succeeded in 2021 by Edward Gardner, who became the group's first British principal conductor for decades. ~ James Manheim

British soprano Rachel Nicholls is a prominent dramatic soprano, specializing in Wagner and other opera composers of the late 19th century. She has also sung Baroque music and is familiar to many through her appearances on recordings in conductor Masaaki Suzuki's Bach cantata cycle. Nicholls was born in Bedford, England, in 1975. She attended a local school whose strong music department she has credited for her success, telling the Independent that "quite a few of us have made fantastic careers in the music world thanks to our teacher there." Bedford offered a youth opera group that mounted a fully staged operatic production each year. She was also able to attend classes in the junior department of London's Trinity College of Music, about an hour away. Nicholls attended the University of York, studying French, but she was drawn to opera and switched to voice studies at the Royal College of Music in 1998. Her teacher there was Kathleen Livingstone. A second prize in 2001 at the Kathleen Ferrier Memorial Competition, held at highly visible Wigmore Hall, got her noticed, and she began to find major operatic roles. At first these were mostly in Baroque opera and choral music; she appeared in several parts with the English Touring Opera, including Erismena in Cavalli's opera of the same name and Ginevra in Handel's Ariodante. She played Armida in Handel's Rinaldo at the Edinburgh Festival and recorded Bach's B minor Mass with Suzuki and his Bach Collegium Japan in 2007. Nicholls worked with major Baroque conductors including Jean-Claude Malgoire and John Eliot Gardiner. Later, especially after she continued voice studies with the Wagner specialist Dame Anne Evans, she began to gravitate toward dramatic roles of the late Romantic era. Primary among these have been the operas of Wagner; an early breakthrough in this field was an appearance as Brünnhilde in performances of Wagner's Ring operas at the Longborough Festival Opera. At the Royal Opera in London she appeared in Parsifal as a Flower Maiden. Nicholls has appeared at London's Covent Garden as Prilepa in Tchaikovsky's The Queen of Spades and as Echo in Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos, among other non-Wagnerian roles. She has also been in demand for appearances in major choral performances including those of Verdi's Requiem at London's Cadogan Hall and Haydn's Mass in D minor ("Lord Nelson") with the Huddersfield Choral Society. Nicholls teaches voice at the University of Huddersfield and serves as a performance coach at her alma mater, the University of York. She has made several operatic recordings and in 2019 she appeared under conductor Martyn Brabbins with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra in a recording of Michael Tippett's Symphony No. 3. ~ James Manheim

Baritone Ashley Riches landed places in several of Britain's most prominent programs for emerging artists and appeared at major opera houses in Britain and beyond quite early in his career.

Riches was born in 1986 or 1987 and grew up in Scarborough in North Yorkshire, where he attended the Scarborough College secondary school. As a student there, he played the flute and was inspired by his grandfather Charles Riches, a longtime jazz bandleader at Scarborough's Olympia Ballroom. Ashley went on to Winchester College and then to King's College, Cambridge, where he sang in the King's College Choir and took voice lessons. His main field of study was English, however, and he looked toward a career as a lawyer. He had already lined up an entry-level job at a London firm when his singing teacher suggested that he continue his music studies instead. Riches auditioned and was accepted at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. He graduated as a finalist for the school's gold medal. Riches served a major apprenticeship at the Royal Opera House in London as a Jette Parker Young Artist from 2012 to 2014, and he snared attention at a gala concert when he sang a duet with tenor Roberto Alagna. Another boost to his career was a designation as a BBC New Generation Artist from 2016 to 2018. Riches has sung with major companies, including the English National Opera (where he played Count Almaviva in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro), the Opéra Nationale de Lorraine in France, and Moscow's Novaya Opera. He made his debut at the BBC Proms in 2019 with an appearance as Bernardino in Berlioz's Benvenuto Cellini. Riches is also active as a concert artist, performing in Handel's Messiah at Symphony Hall, Birmingham, under his former King's College Choir director, Stephen Cleobury, Verdi's Requiem at both Royal Albert Hall and Winchester Cathedral, and Bach's St. Matthew Passion on tour in Europe with the Monteverdi Choir and its director, John Eliot Gardiner, among other works. Riches performed in the British premiere of Shostakovich's unfinished opera Orango under conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen with the Philharmonia Orchestra.

Riches has appeared on various operatic recordings and made his solo debut in 2015 with a world premiere, that of Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco's Shakespeare Sonnets, on the Resonus Classics label. Two years later, he moved to Chandos for a recording of songs by Arthur Sullivan. Riches returned in 2021 with A Musical Zoo, a recital of songs about animals. ~ James Manheim

Soprano Jennifer France's mastery of a variety of roles propelled her to success while she was still a student. She has recorded for the Hyperion, Signum Classics, and Rubicon Classics labels.

France was born in the late '80s and grew up in England's Hertfordshire region outside London. She is a distant relative of Hollywood musical star Deanna Durbin, but her immediate family was not musical. She attended the Arts Educational School in Tring, studying dance and musical theater. France was already performing as a girl, becoming a founding member of the National Children's Choir at age 11 in 1998 and appearing before the Royal Family and members of Parliament in 2001 at the Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall. She went on to become a member of the National Youth Choir of Great Britain, but during her teen years, she aspired to a career on London's West End musical theater stages rather than in opera. (She also mulled a career as a professional tennis player.)

The musical director of a show in which she was appearing suggested that France apply to music school, and she enrolled at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester at 19. Although she knew little of classical singing at the time, she applied herself under the guidance of teacher Sandra Dugdale and was soon appearing in college operatic productions. Graduating from the RNCM in 2010, France went on to the Royal Academy of Music, winning the Patron's Award and the Principal's Prize; the former honor brought with it an appearance at Wigmore Hall in London. In 2014, France made her recording debut on the Hyperion label, appearing on the third volume of the label's Debussy Songs Edition.

France's career was boosted when she won the Critics' Circle Emerging Talent Award in 2018, and she has been in demand in both opera and concert music since then. Her operatic repertory is a varied thing that includes roles ranging from Susanna in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro to Zerbinetta in Richard Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos to the Controller in Jonathan Dove's Flight. She has appeared with major companies, including the Bayerische Staatsoper in Germany, the Dutch National Opera, and various companies across Britain. France's concert engagements include both choral music and orchestral songs; she has appeared at such top venues as the Royal Albert Hall, The Sage, Gateshead, and St John's, Smith Square.

Her plans for the 2023-2024 season include appearances in Beethoven's Mass in C major, Op. 86, with the Liverpool Philharmonic, Brett Dean's Evolution Cantata with the Orchestre National de Lyon, and Richard Strauss' Sechs Lieder with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Vasily Petrenko. Especially in concert, she has a large repertory of contemporary music. France has made several more recordings, taking the soprano part in Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125, on a 2021 recording with the Britten Sinfonia and conductor Thomas Adès, and appearing in 2023 on the thematic recital album Homelands. ~ James Manheim

Although it sometimes performs with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the London Philharmonic Choir has a long history as an independent organization. The choir has a large recording catalog stretching back to the 78 rpm era.

The London Philharmonic Choir was formed in 1946 as an adjunct of the London Philharmonic Orchestra. Its first chorus master was Frederic Jackson, who remained in that position until 1969. The choir made its debut on May 15, 1947, performing Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125 ("Choral"), with the London Philharmonic Orchestra at the Royal Albert Hall in London. That same year, the choir made its first recording, with Ernest Ansermet conducting the same group in Stravinsky's Symphony of Psalms. In its first decades, the London Philharmonic Choir remained closely tied to the London Philharmonic Orchestra, but when the latter hit difficult financial times in the 1950s, the choir began to accept engagements with other orchestras. Jackson was succeeded in 1969 by John Alldis, who often programmed contemporary music. His successor as chorus master was Richard Cooke, who served from 1982 to 1991. The London Philharmonic Choir made many recordings during the LP era; the 1976 release Sounds of Glory (later retitled Praise -- 18 Choral Masterpieces) was a crossover hit, making the U.K. top ten.

The '90s were an unstable time for the London Philharmonic Choir, which clashed with London Philharmonic Orchestra conductor Franz Welser-Möst over issues of interpretation. Jeremy Jackson served as chorus master from 1992 to 1994. In 1994, Neville Creed assumed that position with the new title of artistic director; he remained in that role as of the mid-2020s. In 1996, the choir was removed from the London Philharmonic Orchestra payroll and became independent. After several years of lean times, the group signed with two major British booking agencies and began to perform with other orchestras and in independent concerts. The choir eventually agreed on an arrangement with the orchestra whereby it was given the right of first refusal for performances of choral works. The London Philharmonic Choir registered as a charity in 2002. The group has more than 200 members, ranging from college students to retirees; they join the group after auditions and are re-auditioned every one to three years. The choir's patron is Princess Alexandra, a cousin of Queen Elizabeth II. During the digital era, the group has continued to record prolifically; by the time it released a recording of Berlioz's The Damnation of Faust with the London Philharmonic Orchestra (on that ensemble's in-house label) in 2023, its digital catalog comprised well over 25 albums. ~ James Manheim