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British violinist Matthew Trusler has earned strong critical acclaim for his recordings, issued on his own Orchid Classics label, and for performances developed through contacts formed during an education that spanned his native United Kingdom, continental Europe, and the U.S. In addition to musical performance and label administration, Trusler has been active as head of a musical foundation and as a representative for other artists.

Trusler was born in London in 1976 and began playing the violin at age three. As a child he studied with Sheila Nelson, and he entered the fast track when he won the Frederick Grinke Scholarship to London's Royal Academy of Music. He also studied at the Mozarteum summer academy in Salzburg, winning an outstanding student prize there, and at the Rotterdam Conservatory under Jean-Jacques Kantorow and then Ruggiero Ricci, who bestowed high praise upon the youngster. He moved to the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia for studies with Viktor Denchenko, graduating in 1998.

Trusler quickly established a reputation as a rising concerto soloist, performing with a bow once owned by Jascha Heifetz. He has been particularly effective in concertos of the 20th century, numbering those by Walton, Berg, Britten, Lindberg, Korngold, and Rozsa among his repertoire. In 1998 he made his recital debut at Wigmore Hall in London, returning there the following year as part of the BBC's influential New Generations series. Trusler was part of a chamber group that recorded Messiaen's Poèmes pour mi for Champs Hill in 2004. The following year he issued The Pity of War, a collection of violin sonatas shaped by wartime, on Orchid Classics, and he has recorded mostly for that label, to which he has also signed other artists. His 2010 recording of concertos by Rozsa and Korngold won critical acclaim, and in 2017 he issued an album of Prokofiev's Violin Concertos Nos. 1 and 2. His plans for the late 2010s include Wonderland, an album produced in collaboration with animated filmmakers and marking the 150th anniversary of Alice in Wonderland.

Trusler is the founder of the Lenny Trusler Children's Foundation, which raises money for seriously ill infants. He was also a co-founder of the Malmo International String Festival, and in 2012 he was appointed a director of Delange Artists Management, based in Amsterdam. ~ James Manheim

The BBC National Orchestra of Wales is an integral part of Welsh culture, giving frequent premieres of works by Welsh composers. The orchestra is often active beyond Wales, recording a variety of material that includes many BBC television soundtracks.

The origins of the BBC National Orchestra of Wales lay in the Cardiff Station Orchestra, which was founded in 1924. In 1928, it was renamed the National Orchestra of Wales. This orchestra dissolved under funding pressures in 1931 but was revived as the BBC Welsh Orchestra in 1935. Wartime restrictions led the orchestra to disband in 1939, but after the war, it was revived once again and grew consistently, from 31 members to 66 members by 1976, when it was renamed the BBC Welsh Symphony Orchestra. The group now has 78 members. It took its present name in 1993, and an associated chorus was also named the BBC National Chorus of Wales. Notable among the orchestra's performances have been some 50 world premieres, most of which have been of music by Welsh composers, including more than 20 by Alun Hoddinott, whose namesake Hoddinott Hall now houses the orchestra's administrative offices (its concerts mostly take place at St. David's Hall in Cardiff). The orchestra and chorus also gave the world premiere of Arvo Pärt's In spe in 2010. The orchestra has helped nurture several international conducting careers, including those of Richard Hickox (principal conductor from 2000-2006), Thierry Fischer (2006-2012), Thomas Søndergård (2012-2017), and Xian Zhang (2017-2020, the first female principal conductor of any BBC orchestra. Ryan Bancroft was named principal conductor in 2020; Lisa Tregale was named artistic director, becoming the first woman to hold the post.

The orchestra has a large catalog of more than 65 recordings that is by no means restricted to the music of Welsh composers. That total does not include BBC television soundtrack recordings for, among other programs, Doctor Who. The BBC National Orchestra of Wales has recorded for the Hyperion, BIS, and Chandos labels, as well as for Linn, where it released a complete cycle of Sibelius symphonies. The year 2014 saw the release of no fewer than seven recordings by the group. In 2020, the BBC National Orchestra of Wales was heard on Beethoven Reimagined, an album by composer/DJ Gabriel Prokofiev. ~ James Manheim