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Gianandrea Noseda has developed a well-deserved reputation as a conductor who has mastered a wide range of both symphonic and stage music. He has conducted operas at the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg and the Metropolitan Opera in New York, as well as at other major operatic venues across the globe, and he is one of the most prolific conductors of the 21st century.

Noseda was born in Milan on April 23, 1964. He first studied piano, then later focused on composition and conducting. His teachers included Valery Gergiev, Myung-Whun Chung, and Donato Renzetti. In 1994, Noseda won two prestigious conducting competitions, the first in Douai, France, and the latter in Cadaques, Spain. Following his win in Cadaques, he was named the principal conductor of the Cadaqués Orchestra. His official debut followed shortly when he led the Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi. With this ensemble, he made his first recording (1995), a disc of Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez, and other guitar works with soloist Emanuele Segre for the Claves label.

In 1997, upon the initiative of Gergiev, Noseda was made principal guest conductor at the Mariinsky Theater, the first foreigner to be given this honor. In 2002, Noseda made his debut at the Met conducting Prokofiev's War and Peace and was appointed principal conductor of the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra. One of his early recordings, featuring Dvořák's Symphony No. 8 in G major, Op. 88, came the same year with that group. He held this position until 2006 when his title was changed to chief conductor, a post he held until 2011. That year, he was named the principal guest conductor of the Israel Philharmonic.

In the late 2000s and early 2010s, Noseda emerged as one of the top operatic conductors on the British scene and beyond, with muscular, often hyper-dramatic interpretations that drew audiences. His work was amply captured on recordings, with a video of Gounod's Faust appearing in 2016, with the Orchestra e Coro Teatro Regio Torino, and one of Bizet's The Pearl Fishers at the Met in 2017. Noseda made a series of high-profile appearances conducting vocal recitals by four of the world's top singers: Ildebrando d'Arcangelo, Rolando Villazón, Anna Netrebko, and Diana Damrau. In 2016, Noseda was named the principal guest conductor of the London Symphony, and the following year, he was named the music director of the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, D.C. In 2018, he was named the general music director of the Zurich Opera House, beginning with the 2021-2022 season.

Noseda has made numerous recordings for a variety of labels, including Deutsche Grammophon, Decca, Philips, and Chandos. His most popular recordings include the best-selling 2003 solo debut of soprano arias by Netrebko with the Vienna Philharmonic on Deutsche Grammophon. Most of his symphonic recordings have been made for the Chandos label and include a complete cycle of the Liszt symphonic poems (finished in 2007) and a cycle of Beethoven's nine symphonies with the BBC Symphony. In 2020, Noseda issued several albums, including Dvorák's New World Symphony and Copland's Billy the Kid with the National Symphony, Shostakovich's Symphonies Nos. 5 and 1 with the London Symphony, and Luigi Dallapiccola's Il Prigioniero with the Danish National Symphony. Recordings in his Shostakovich cycle with the London Symphony continued to appear through the COVID-19 pandemic; an album combining the Symphony No. 6 in B minor, Op. 54, and Symphony No. 15 in A minor, Op. 141, appeared on the LSO Live label in 2023. By that time, his recording catalog comprised more than 80 items. ~ Robert Cummings & James Manheim

Evgeny Akimov (alternate spellings: Yevgeny, Jevgenij, etc.) is a leading tenor in the company of the Kirov Opera at the Mariinsky Theater in his native St. Petersburg. He was trained at the famous Conservatory (named after Rimsky-Korsakov) in that city and made a name for himself by winning several important vocal awards and competitions. In 1996, he was engaged as a soloist in the company of the Kirov Opera. He has visited foreign countries several times. He went to Germany as part of the Moscow Children's Opera Theater. As a part of the St. Petersburg Vocal Sextet he has toured Germany, Italy, and Japan, and as a member of the Kirov has sung in their touring productions in Spain, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Finland, and in the United States on the stage of the Metropolitan Opera House in New York. On his home stage, he sings the international tenor repertory, including such roles as the Duke in Verdi's Rigoletto, Cassio in Otello, and Count Almaviva in Rossini's Barber of Seville. He is better known, internationally, for his portrayals of both character and leading tenor roles in Russian operas, including Antonio in Prokofiev's Betrothal in a Monastery (The Duenna), Prince Vladimir in Borodin's Prince Igor, the Fool (Yurodivy) in Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov, Bayan in Glinka's Ruslan and Ludmila, Prokofiev's Semyon Kotko, in Rimsky-Korsakov's The Tsar's Bride, and the Prince of Clubs in Prokofiev's Love for Three Oranges. His CD releases include Boris, Betrothal, Oranges, Kotko, and Tsar's Bride, and he appears on video in Kirov productions of Prince Igor and Betrothal.

The BBC Singers bill themselves as Britain's only full-time, fully professional choir. The ensemble was founded at the same time the British Broadcasting Corporation created its Symphony Orchestra for the same purpose: to be available for broadcast work of a wide range of musical repertory. Since the group's inception, the BBC Singers have excelled in the performance of works ranging from the Renaissance to the present day. They were featured on the recording Imogen Holst: Discovering Imogen in 2024.

The BBC Singers were originally formed in 1924 as the Wireless Chorus under the direction of the BBC's first chorus master, Stanford Robinson. The ensemble's first broadcast was on September 28, 1924, in a performance of Mendelssohn's oratorio, Elijah. From 1929 until 1994, the group sang for the Daily Service broadcast. Other broadcasts included premieres of new choral music and revivals of great British music from the Renaissance through the age of Purcell. The choir has sung world premieres of such notable works as Britten's A Boy Was Born and Hymn to St. Cecilia, Poulenc's Figure humaine, Henze's Orpheus Behind the Wire, and Magnus Lindberg's Untitled, a piece thought to be too difficult to perform. Over the years, the ensemble assumed various sizes and names -- including the Wireless Singers, the Variety Chorus, and the BBC Chorus -- but in 1972, the name BBC Singers was affixed permanently.

The group has always had its own chief conductor. Following Robinson were Leslie Woodgate (1934-1961), Peter Gellhorn (1961-1972), John Poole (1972-1989), Stephen Cleobury (1995-2007), and David Hill (2007-2017). Under Cleobury, the Singers made numerous recordings, including the works of Charles Ives and Richard Strauss, and became the first choir to sing an a cappella selection as a part of one of the traditional Proms Concerts. The Singers began touring abroad in the 1940s, going as far as Japan and Mexico in the 2000s. While touring, the group has worked with distinguished conductors such as Herbert von Karajan and Wilhelm Furtwängler. The choir is also heard at festivals in the United Kingdom and Europe, as well as special events, such as the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales. Along with its chief conductors, the group has worked with guest conductors, including Stravinsky, Milhaud, Beecham, Bo Holten, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, and Pierre Boulez. In 2017, the BBC Singers announced the hiring of Sofi Jeannin as the ensemble's first female chief conductor. Jeannin began her tenure in 2018, and her contract was extended through 2026.

The BBC Singers have commissioned a large number of works by such composers as Britten, Sir Peter Maxwell-Davies, and Iannis Xenakis, among many others. In 2002, the Singers named Edward Cowie as the ensemble's first associate composer. Cowie was followed by Judith Bingham -- a former member of the Singers -- (2004-2010), Gabriel Jackson (2010-2013), Judith Weir (2015-2022), and Roderick Williams (2022-).

The BBC Singers' distinguished recordings have appeared on the Signum, Naxos, and Chandos labels, among others. In 2019, the Singers can be heard on G.F. Handel: Messiah on Resonus, as well as Enrique Granados' opera Goyescas on Harmonia Mundi. While continuing a rigorous recording output and performing schedule into the 2020s, the future of the BBC Singers was put into doubt suddenly in early 2023 when the BBC announced the group's dissolution, citing a new direction for their classical entities. Following immediate and vigorous backlash, the BBC rescinded its decision and partnered the Singers with the Voces8 Foundation to financially support the group's efforts. In 2024, the BBC Singers were heard on recordings of the orchestral songs by Charles Villiers Stanford and Discovering Imogen, a program of works by Imogen Holst. ~ Patsy Morita & Keith Finke

The BBC Philharmonic, based in the city of Salford in northern England's Greater Manchester county, is one of the most important orchestras in the United Kingdom, distinguishing itself by its sheer visibility and solid commitment to contemporary British music that has included the establishment of a composer/conductor position. Its home concert venue is Manchester's Bridgewater Hall. The people of the Manchester area and the north of England are rightly proud of their radio orchestra. With so much British culture and finance administered in London, there is an independent spirit driving the culture of the north. The BBC Philharmonic has not only survived, but it has thrived. It has developed a character distinct from that of the larger BBC Symphony Orchestra, based in London: more populist, perhaps, but also more adventurous and -- with the orchestra's large recording catalog, generous outreach programs, and international tours -- more entrepreneurial.

The BBC Philharmonic's history is rather checkered, for it has had to endure numerous crises. In 1922, prior to the official establishment of the British Broadcasting Corporation, Manchester had a radio station known as 2YZ, housed on the premises of the Metropolitan Vickers Electrical Company. Early on, a small orchestra was established for broadcasts; it concentrated mainly on light music but expanded on occasion for performances of symphonic repertoire and opera. The station gained a reputation for broadcasting British music, including the first radio performances of music by Edward Elgar, Gustav Holst, and William Walton. When the BBC was established in 1927, the 2YZ orchestra was renamed the Northern Wireless Orchestra; later, it became the BBC Northern Orchestra. Its existence was always precarious, but the group's size and repertoire increased. During World War II, the orchestra gave concerts in various communities around the region, bringing it to a wider public. The BBC Northern Orchestra continued to gain a strong reputation for performing and broadcasting British music, particularly works by living composers who were often invited to conduct the orchestra.

In 1961, the BBC Northern Orchestra made its first appearance at the Henry Wood Promenade Concerts under the direction of George Hurst. The regional identity of the ensemble began from that point to evolve into a national and international one. After a difficult strike in 1980, the BBC committed to supporting a full orchestra in Manchester, and in 1982, the ensemble was given its current name. Its principal conductor at that time was Edward Downes, who was succeeded in 1991 by Yan Pascal Tortelier. The ensemble's reputation for adventurous programming has expanded to an international scope as well, as composers from various countries have come to conduct the orchestra.

In 1991, the post of composer/conductor was created, with Peter Maxwell Davies being the first appointment. Davies composed several works for the orchestra, including several symphonies culminating with Symphony No. 7, which premiered in 2000. Along the way, he has also recorded a number of his orchestral works for release. Composer James MacMillan was named his successor in 2001. The following year, Gianandrea Noseda was named principal conductor (the title changed to chief conductor in 2006). HK Gruber followed MacMillan as composer/conductor in 2009. In 2011, Noseda was named conductor laureate, and Juanjo Mena became the chief conductor. In 2015, the BBC Philharmonic changed the title of the composer/conductor role to composer in association and appointed Mark Simpson to the position. Mena served as chief conductor until 2018, and Omer Meir Wellber, following a successful guest conductor performance, assumed the chief conductor position in 2019. John Storgårds was named the orchestra's new chief conductor in 2023 after serving as chief guest conductor since 2017.

The BBC Philharmonic has a vast recording catalog comprising hundreds of albums, with the majority of them being on the Chandos label. It has also recorded for Naxos and Albany, among many other labels. In 2023, under conductor Rumon Gamba, it was heard on a recording of orchestral music by Malcolm Arnold, which also featured clarinetist Michael Collins, on the Chandos label. ~ James Harley & Keith Finke