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Edward Gardner (conductor)

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For other people named Edward Gardner, see Edward Gardner (disambiguation).

Edward Gardner in September 2011

Edward Gardner OBE (born 22 November 1974) is an English conductor. While still studying at the Royal Academy of Music in the late 1990s, he began his professional career as a choral conductor and repetiteur. Among other early posts, he was music director of Glyndebourne on Tour from 2004 to 2007. Gardner was music director of English National Opera from 2007 to 2015. From 2010 to 2016, he was principal guest conductor of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, and since 2013, he has been principal guest conductor of the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra. Since 2021, he has been principal conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra. In 2022, he also became artistic advisor of the Norwegian National Opera and Ballet, where he is scheduled to become the music director in 2024.

Biography

Gardner was born in Gloucester,[1] and sang as a chorister at Gloucester Cathedral. As a youth, he played piano, clarinet and organ.[2] He attended the King's School, Gloucester and Eton College. At the University of Cambridge, he continued as a music student, and was a choral scholar in King's College Choir. He had begun choral conducting at Eton, and continued conducting at Cambridge.[3] He also studied at the Royal Academy of Music, where his teachers included Colin Metters.[4] He graduated from the RAM in 2000.

From 1997 until 2002, Gardner was Musical Director of Wokingham Choral Society, a post previously held by Graeme Jenkins, Paul Daniel, and Stephen Layton. In 1999, whilst still a student at the Royal Academy of Music, Gardner became a repetiteur at the Salzburg Festival at the invitation of Michael Gielen when another repetiteur became ill.[5] Gardner subsequently served as an assistant conductor to Mark Elder at The Hallé Orchestra for three years.[6] In 2003, Gardner was named music director of Glyndebourne on Tour, and held the post from 2004[7] to 2007.

In 2005, Gardner won the Young Artist prize of the Royal Philharmonic Society.[8] In March 2006, he was appointed music director of English National Opera.[9][10] He formally took up the post in May 2007 with an initial contract of 3 years.[11] Although there had not been any press announcements of Gardner extending his ENO contract, in 2011 he said he planned to work with ENO until at least 2015.[12] In January 2014, ENO announced the scheduled conclusion of Gardner's tenure as music director in 2015.[13]

In September 2010, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra announced the appointment of Gardner as its next principal guest conductor, effective September 2011, with an initial contract of 3 years, for 3–4 weeks of concerts per season.[14][15] He concluded his tenure as CBSO principal guest conductor in July 2016.[16] Outside the UK, in February 2013, Gardner was simultaneously named the next principal guest conductor of the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, effective August 2013, and the orchestra's next principal conductor effective with the 2015–2016 season. His initial contract as principal conductor was for 3 years.[17][18] In January 2017, the orchestra announced the extension of Gardner's contract in Bergen through 2021.[19] In September 2019, the orchestra further extended Gardner's Bergen contract through 2023.[20] In June 2021, the orchestra announced a 1-year extension of Gardner's Bergen Philharmonic contract through July 2024.[21] Gardner concluded his tenure as chief conductor at the close of the 2023–2024 season, at which time the orchestra named him its æresdirigent (honorary conductor).[22]

Gardner made his guest-conducting debut with the London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) in 2003. In July 2019, the LPO announced the appointment of Gardner as its next principal conductor, effective with the 2021-2022 season, with an initial contract of 5 years.[23] In February 2022, the Norwegian National Opera and Ballet announced the appointment of Gardner as its artistic advisor, with immediate effect, and as its next music director, effective 1 August 2024.[24] In September 2024, the LPO announced the extension of Gardner's contract as principal conductor for an additional two years.[25]

Gardner has conducted several recordings for EMI Classics, including collaborations with Alison Balsom and Kate Royal.[4][26][27] He has recorded regularly for Chandos Records,[28][29] which has included recordings of music by Berlioz, Witold Lutosławski[30][31][32] and Benjamin Britten.[33]

Honours

In 2008, the Royal Philharmonic Society named Gardner its Conductor of the Year.[34] Gardner was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the 2012 Birthday Honours for services to music.[35][36]

Personal life

Gardner has a son, Charlie, from his past relationship with Alison Balsom.[2][37][38]

References

  1. ^ Christopher Morley (15 November 2007). "From opera pit to podium of the CBSO". Birmingham Post. Archived from the original on 2 December 2008. Retrieved 8 December 2007.
  2. ^ a b Andrew Clark (11 September 2010). "Edward Gardner: 'success is a two-edged sword'". Financial Times. Retrieved 26 September 2010.
  3. ^ Neil Fisher (18 May 2007). "Gladiator at the Coliseum". The Times. London. Retrieved 16 May 2008.[dead link‍]
  4. ^ a b Michael Church (21 June 2009). "Edward Gardner: The man who rescued opera". The Independent. Retrieved 12 July 2009.
  5. ^ Charlotte Higgins (19 April 2007). "Enter the young pretender". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 December 2007.
  6. ^ Neil Fisher (12 August 2005). "The good terrorists?". The Times. London. Archived from the original on 17 May 2011. Retrieved 16 May 2008.
  7. ^ Louise Jury (8 March 2006). "Rising star of British music becomes ENO director at age of 31". The Independent. Retrieved 8 December 2007.[dead link‍]
  8. ^ Emma Love (30 April 2006). "Rising star: Edward Gardner, conductor". The Observer. Retrieved 8 December 2007.
  9. ^ Richard Morrison (8 March 2006). "Young star takes baton in gamble to revive ENO". The Times. London. Retrieved 8 December 2007.[dead link‍]
  10. ^ Charlotte Higgins (8 March 2006). "Troubled opera company picks young conductor". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 December 2007.
  11. ^ Rupert Christiansen (20 September 2007). "ENO needs a fresh beginning". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 12 October 2007. Retrieved 4 July 2008.
  12. ^ Rupert Christiansen (1 June 2011). "Edward Gardner interview for Simon Boccanegra". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2 July 2011.
  13. ^ Mark Brown (23 January 2014). "English National Opera's Edward Gardner to leave". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  14. ^ "Edward Gardner appointed as Principal Guest Conductor of City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra" (Press release). City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. 10 September 2010. Archived from the original on 14 May 2011. Retrieved 26 September 2010.
  15. ^ Christopher Morley (24 September 2010). "Dream come true for Edward Gardner". Birmingham Post. Archived from the original on 26 September 2012. Retrieved 26 September 2010.
  16. ^ Rian Evans (14 July 2016). "CBSO/Gardner: Falstaff review – played in the highest of end-of-term spirits". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 August 2016.
  17. ^ "Et kupp for Harmonien". Norwegian Radio (NRK). 19 February 2013. Retrieved 28 February 2013.
  18. ^ "Edward Gardner to head the Bergen Philharmonic". Gramophone. 18 February 2013. Retrieved 28 February 2013.
  19. ^ Britt Sørensen (5 January 2017). "Edward Gardner får fornyet kontrakt med BFO". Bergens Tidende. Retrieved 5 January 2017.
  20. ^ "Edward Gardner forlenger med Bergen Filharmoniske Orkester" (Press release). Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra. 6 September 2019. Retrieved 7 September 2019.[permanent dead link‍]
  21. ^ "Edward Gardner forlenger kontrakten med Bergen Filharmoniske Orkester" (Press release). Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra. 17 June 2021. Archived from the original on 24 June 2021. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
  22. ^ "Edward Gardner named Honorary Conductor of Bergen Philharmonic after nine years as Chief Conductor" (Press release). Askonas Holt. 5 June 2024. Retrieved 28 June 2024.
  23. ^ "Next Principal Conductor announced" (Press release). London Philharmonic Orchestra. 25 July 2019. Archived from the original on 28 July 2019. Retrieved 28 July 2019.
  24. ^ "Edward Gardner named as new Music Director of Norwegian Opera & Ballet" (PDF) (Press release). Norwegian National Opera and Ballet. 1 February 2022. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
  25. ^ "Edward Gardner extends his Principal Conductor contract with London Philharmonic Orchestra" (Press release). London Philharmonic Orchestra. 17 September 2024. Retrieved 18 September 2024.
  26. ^ Geoff Brown (1 May 2009). "Kate Royal: Midsummer Night". The Times. Archived from the original on 8 May 2009. Retrieved 23 September 2009.
  27. ^ Alan Franks (11 September 2009). "Alison Balsom: 'don't compare me to Katherine Jenkins'". The Times. Retrieved 23 September 2009.[dead link‍]
  28. ^ Petroc Trelawny (15 October 2009). "English music desperately needs someone to replace the much-missed Richard Hickox (Music blog entry)". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 2 October 2012. Retrieved 16 May 2010.
  29. ^ Fiona Maddocks (2 May 2010). "Gerald Finley: Great Operatic Arias (Chandos Opera in English)". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 May 2010.
  30. ^ Andrew Clements (14 October 2010). "Lutosławski: Concerto for Orchestra; Symphony No 3; Chain 3 – review". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 May 2011.
  31. ^ Andrew Clements (1 September 2011). "Lutosławski: Chantefleurs et Chantefables; Les Espaces du Sommeil; Paroles Tissées, etc – review: Crowe/Spence/Purves/BBC SO/Gardner (Chandos)". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  32. ^ Fiona Maddocks (17 November 2012). "Lutoslawski: Orchestral Works III – review". The Observer. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  33. ^ Andrew Clements (17 March 2011). "Britten: Cello Symphony; Symphonic Suite from Gloriana etc – review". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 May 2011.
  34. ^ Michael Church (21 June 2009). "Edward Gardner: The man who rescued opera". The Independent. Retrieved 6 May 2011.
  35. ^ "No. 60173". The London Gazette (Supplement). 16 June 2012. p. 10.
  36. ^ "Honours for Branagh and Jowell". BBC. 16 June 2012. Retrieved 16 June 2012.
  37. ^ Michael Tumelty (28 April 2010). "Raising the bar". The Herald. Retrieved 16 May 2010.
  38. ^ Richard Fairman (5 January 2023). "Conductor Edward Gardner: 'We are being asked to widen what we give audiences'". Financial Times. Retrieved 28 June 2024.
Cultural offices
Preceded by Music Director, Glyndebourne on Tour
2004–2007 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Music Director, English National Opera
2007–2015 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Chief Conductor, Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra
2015–2024 		Succeeded by
(post vacant)
Preceded by Chief Conductor, London Philharmonic Orchestra
2021–present 		Succeeded by
incumbent
Preceded by Music Director, Norwegian National Opera and Ballet
2024–present 		Succeeded by
incumbent
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