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Mark Elder

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Not to be confused with Mark Elder (American football).

Mark Elder in 2011

Sir Mark Philip Elder CH, CBE (born 2 June 1947) is a British conductor. He is currently music director of the Hallé Orchestra in Manchester, England.

Life and career

Elder was born in Hexham, Northumberland, the son of a dentist.[1] He played the bassoon when in primary school, at Bryanston School, Dorset, and in the National Youth Orchestra, where he was one of the foremost musicians (bassoon and keyboard) of his generation. He attended Corpus Christi College, Cambridge as a choral scholar, where he studied music. He later became a protégé of Sir Edward Downes and gained experience conducting Verdi operas (as well as Prokofiev's War and Peace and Wagner's Meistersinger) in Australia, at the Sydney Opera House.[2]

Family

Elder and his wife, Mandy, have a daughter, Katie.[3]

The ENO and association with several orchestras

From 1979 to 1993, Elder was the music director of English National Opera (ENO). He was known as part of the "Power House" team that also included general director Peter Jonas and artistic director David Pountney, and gave ENO several very successful years of productions.[citation needed]

Elder served as principal guest conductor of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (1992–1995) and music director of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra (1989–1994). He held positions as Principal Guest Conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra (1982–1985) and the London Mozart Players (1980–1983).[citation needed]

The Hallé years

Elder was appointed music director of the Hallé Orchestra in 1999.[4] His first concert as music director was in October 2000.[5] He proposed several novel ideas for concerts. These have included the abandonment of traditional concert evening garb.[6]

Elder is generally regarded as having restored the orchestra to high musical standards, after a period where the continuing existence of the orchestra was in doubt.[7] In 2004, he signed a contract to extend his tenure from 2005 to 2008, with an optional two-year extension at the end of that time.[8] A 2005 report indicated Elder's intention to remain with the orchestra until at least 2010.[9]

In May 2009, the orchestra announced the extension of Elder's contract to 2015.[10] In November 2013, the Hallé announced the further extension of Elder's contract through "at least 2020".[11][12] In February 2023, Elder stated his intention to stand down as music director of The Hallé at the close of the 2023-2024 season.[13]

Elder has been president of the London Philharmonic Choir from 2014 and is currently the Royal Academy of Music's Barbirolli Chair of Conducting. In November 2021, the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra announced the appointment of Elder as its next principal guest conductor, effective from 1 August 2022, with an initial contract of three years through 31 July 2025.[14]

Public pronouncements

Elder first conducted the Last Night of the Proms in 1987. He was scheduled to conduct again in 1990, but his remarks about the nature of some of the traditional Proms selections in the context of the impending first Gulf War led to his dismissal from that engagement.[15]

In 2006, he returned to conduct the BBC Symphony Orchestra for his second "Last Night" engagement, and used the traditional speech at the end of the concert to criticise aircraft baggage restrictions, in place following the uncovering of the 2006 transatlantic aircraft plot, which have made it difficult for musicians to carry their instruments on aircraft. In a reference to the fact that laptop computers are now allowed in aircraft cabins, Elder said, "...it seems to me that next year we should all look forward to 'Concerto for Laptop and Orchestra'."[16][17] He made a plea for children to be given more opportunity to sing at school.[18]

Honours

Elder was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 1989 Queen's Birthday Honours.[19] He won an Olivier Award in 1991 for his outstanding work at English National Opera. He received the 2006 conductor prize of the Royal Philharmonic Society.[20] In April 2007, Elder was one of eight conductors of British orchestras to endorse the 10-year classical music outreach manifesto, "Building on Excellence: Orchestras for the 21st Century", to increase the presence of classical music in the UK, including giving free entry to all British schoolchildren to a classical music concert.[21]

Elder was knighted in the Queen's Birthday Honours of June 2008.[22][23] He was appointed Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour (CH) in the 2017 Birthday Honours for services to music.[24]

Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment

In addition to being involved in the above-named orchestras, Elder became "principal artist" of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment in December 2011.[25] As noted in the article: "His first project with the OAE as principal artist was [to give] a performance of Berlioz's Romeo and Juliet on 18 February 2012 at the Royal Festival Hall, London."

Style

Describing his own conducting style, Elder has said that in contrast to Sir Adrian Boult, who was famously non-perspirational:

I'm quite a physical conductor. I remember seeing Adrian Boult backstage after the 1978 Proms and he was wearing a freshly ironed light blue M&S shirt and he said to me "I see you're one of the sweaty ones."[26]

Recordings and writing

Elder has recorded for the Hyperion, NMC, Chandos, Opera Rara, and Glyndebourne record labels, as well as for the Hallé Orchestra's own label. In addition to his conducting and recording activities, Elder also has written on music for The Guardian and other newspapers.[27]

References

  1. ^ Richard Morrison (20 February 2004). "Pally at the Halle". The Times. Retrieved 23 September 2007.[dead link‍]
  2. ^ Tom Service (21 April 2007). "The Italian Job". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 July 2007.
  3. ^ Joey Canessa (14 December 2005). "My Home: Mark Elder, conductor". The Independent. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 15 February 2007.
  4. ^ Fiachra Gibbons (7 June 1999). "Miracle man to stir Halle giant". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 February 2007.
  5. ^ David Fallows (28 October 2000). "Hallé/Elder". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 February 2007.
  6. ^ Martin Kettle (14 June 2002). "In search of glories past". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 February 2007.
  7. ^ Brian Hunt (15 November 2001). "An orchestra raised from the dead". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 16 February 2007.[dead link‍]
  8. ^ David Ward (19 July 2004). "I'm staying with Hallé, says conductor". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 February 2007.
  9. ^ Hugh Canning (16 October 2005). "Opera: Armed for action". The Times. Archived from the original on 17 May 2011. Retrieved 20 February 2007.
  10. ^ Martin Cullingford, "Elder renews Hallé contract until 2015". Gramophone, 15 May 2009.
  11. ^ "Sir Mark Elder renews his contract as Music Director of the Hallé" (Press release). The Hallé. November 2013. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 28 November 2013.
  12. ^ "Sir Mark Elder renews contract at Hallé until at least 2020". Gramophone. 20 November 2013. Retrieved 28 November 2013.
  13. ^ Janne Palkisto (1 February 2023). "Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra concert, 1 February 2023, interval discussion". YLE (Finnish Radio). Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  14. ^ "Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra appoints Sir Mark Elder as Principal Guest Conductor" (Press release). Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra. 15 November 2021. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  15. ^ Richard Morrison (28 April 2006). "Restored to (hope and) glory". The Times. Archived from the original on 12 July 2012. Retrieved 20 February 2007.
  16. ^ "Conductor criticises air security". BBC News. 10 September 2006. Retrieved 11 February 2007.
  17. ^ Jeevan Vasagar (11 September 2006). "Concerto for laptop? Conductor's sharp note over airport security". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 February 2007.
  18. ^ Richard Morrison (11 September 2006). "Last Night of the Proms". The Times. Retrieved 11 February 2007.[dead link‍]
  19. ^ "No. 51772". The London Gazette (Supplement). 16 June 1989. p. 7.
  20. ^ Charlotte Higgins (10 May 2006). "Hallé's Elder, champion of British music, takes conductor prize". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 February 2007.
  21. ^ Charlotte Higgins (26 April 2007). "Orchestras urge free concerts for children". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 May 2007.
  22. ^ "No. 58729". The London Gazette (Supplement). 14 June 2008. p. 1.
  23. ^ Maev Kennedy (14 June 2008). "Queen's birthday honours". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 June 2008.
  24. ^ "No. 61962". The London Gazette (Supplement). 17 June 2017. p. B25.
  25. ^ Sophia Lambton (13 December 2011). "Sir Mark Elder becomes principal artist with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment". BBC Music Magazine.
  26. ^ Sandra Deeble (2 October 2004). "My work space". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 July 2007.
  27. ^ Mark Elder (5 October 2001). "The music of war". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 February 2007.
Cultural offices
Preceded by Music Director, English National Opera
1979–1993 		Succeeded by
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