Mark Wigglesworth

News Archive

19th March 2024

Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra

The Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra has announced that Mark Wigglesworth will be its Chief Conductor from September 2024.

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12th January 2024

Opéra de Paris

Mark conducts two operas at the Opéra National de Paris this spring. A new production of Bellini’s Beatrice di Tenda is directed by Peter Sellars and Strauss’ Salome stars Lise Davidsen in the title role.

Beatrice di Tenda – read more

Salome – read more

8th December 2023

Hansel and Gretel

Mark conducts Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel at The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. The production by Antony McDonald is sung in a new English translation by Kelley Rourke.

read more

20th November 2023

Lang Lang and the RPO

Mark gives two concerts at the Royal Albert Hall with Lang Lang, Gina Alice, and The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Saint-Saëns Carnival of the Animals and Second Piano Concerto is played alongside music by Wagner and Ravel.

read more

29th October 2023

Dallas and Seattle

Mark travels to America in November for concerts with the Dallas and Seattle Symphony Orchestras. In Dallas the programme is Sibelius’ 1st Symphony and the Brahms Violin Concerto with Maxim Vengerov, and in Seattle the performances are of Elgar’s 2nd Symphony and Brahms 2nd Piano Concerto, for which the soloist will be Sir Stephen Hough.

read more Dallas

read more Seattle

21st October 2023

Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra

Mark is with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra this week for concerts in Poole and Exeter. Wagner’s Tristan and Isolde, An Orchestral Passion by Henk de Vlieger is the main work in the programme, preceded by Brahms’ Violin Concerto with the soloist Tobias Feldmann.

read more

2nd September 2023

Australia

Mark travels to Australia this month for concerts with the Sydney and the Adelaide Symphony Orchestras.

17th July 2023

BBC Proms

Mark conducts the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra at the Proms this summer. Mahler’s First Symphony is preceded by Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No 1 with the pianist Sir Stephen Hough and the world premiere of ABLAZE THE MOON by Grace-Evangeline Mason.

The performance can be heard live on BBC Radio 3 on July 18th and on BBC Sounds.

16th June 2023

Ariadne auf Naxos

Mark conducts the Philharmonia Orchestra in Bruno Ravella’s new production of Ariadne auf Naxos at Garsington.

read more

30th May 2023

With the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra on BBCIPlayer

A concert given by Mark and the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra is available to watch on BBCIPlayer. The concert opens with the Prelude to Wagner’s Parsifal, continues with The Lark Ascending by Vaughan Williams (played by Zoë Beyers), and ends with Elgar’s Second Symphony.

watch here

15th April 2023

Scottish Chamber Orchestra

Mark Wigglesworth conducts three concerts with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra in Edinburgh, Glasgow, and Aberdeen. Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony is preceded by Britten’s Simple Symphony and the 2nd Cello Concerto by Shostakovich for which the soloist will be Laura van der Heijden.

read more

29th January 2023

The Nose

Mark Wigglesworth conducts Shostakovich’s The Nose at the Teatro Real, Madrid. The production by Barrie Kosky stars Martin Winkler, Alexander Teliga, and Vasily Efimov.

read more

20th September 2022

BBC Young Musician of the Year

The BBC Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Mark Wigglesworth accompany the finalists in the BBC Young Musician of the Year. This year five young musicians are featured, performing concertos in Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall from each of the woodwind, brass, string, piano, and percussion categories. The final will be recorded for broadcast on BBC4.

read more

watch here

25th August 2022

BBC Philharmonic

Mark conducts the opening concert in the BBC Philharmonic’s 2022/23 season at The Bridgewater Hall in Manchester. Elgar’s Second Symphony is preceded by the Prelude to Wagner’s Parsifal and Vaughan Williams’ The Lark Ascending in which the soloist will be Zoë Byers.

read more

16th May 2022

Garsington Opera

At Garsington Opera this summer, Mark Wigglesworth conducts the Philharmonia Orchestra in Louisa Muller’s acclaimed production of Benjamin Britten’s The Turn of the Screw. The cast includes Verity Wingate, Robert Murray, Susan Bickley, and Helena Dix.

read more

27th April 2022

Shostakovich Symphonies

Mark Wigglesworth’s complete recording of the Shostakovich Symphonies with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic has been given a comprehensive review on musicweb-international

read more

28th February 2022

March

This month Mark works with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra in a concert that includes Schubert’s ‘Great’ C major Symphony and Mozart’s 22nd Piano Concerto with Dame Imogen Cooper. Mark then travels to Scotland to conduct the BBC Scottish Symphony in music by Wagner, Vaughan Williams, and Sibelius. And in Helsinki the following week he gives a concert of music by Grime, Shostakovich, and Vaughan Williams with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra.

read more – Bournemouth Symphony

read more – BBC Scottish Symphony

read more – Finnish Radio Symphony

2nd February 2022

Vaughan Williams 150

Mark conducts the BBC Philharmonic in the opening concert of a festival that celebrates the 150th anniversary of the birth of Ralph Vaughan Williams. The orchestral version of On Wenlock Edge, sung by the tenor Alessandro Fisher, is played between performances of the 3rd and 5th Symphonies.

read more

10th November 2021

Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra

Mark Wigglesworth is joining the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra as its Principal Guest Conductor.

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24th October 2021

Scottish Chamber Orchestra

Mark conducts the Scottish Chamber Orchestra in Aberdeen, Edinburgh, and Glasgow. Together they perform Mozart’s Posthorn Symphony and Shostakovich’s Fourteenth Symphony for which they are joined by the soprano Elizabeth Atherton and the bass Peter Rose.

read more

29th September 2021

Dresden Philharmonic

Mark conducts a concert with the Dresden Philharmonic on October 16th, performing early works by Wagner, Mahler, and Sibelius.

read more

14th August 2021

Proms Festival Orchestra

On September 8th, Mark conducts the Proms Festival Orchestra as part of the 2021 BBC Proms. It is the first time the Proms has created its own orchestra, bringing together a unique group of freelance musicians to play Shostakovich’s Festival Overture and Mahler’s Fifth Symphony.

read more

10th July 2021

Shostakovich Symphonies

The recording company BIS have issued Mark Wigglesworth’s recordings of all the symphonies of Shostakovich as a 10 CD single box set. Recorded over 15 years with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic, it is a cycle heralded by The Guardian ‘as one of the finest of recent times’.

read more

buy

17th June 2021

Opéra National de Paris

Mark conducts the Opéra National de Paris at the Palais Garnier in a production of Mozart’s La Clemenza di Tito.

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7th June 2021

Gala Lyrique

On June 16th Mark conducts a Gala performance with the Opéra de Paris at the Palais Garnier. He will be joined by the singers Maria Agresta, Michael Fabiano, Ludovic Tézier, and Luca Pisaroni for an evening of overtures, arias, and duets.

read more

21st May 2021

Prague Spring Festival

This year’s final concert of the Prague Spring Festival is a performance by the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Mark Wigglesworth. Mahler’s What the Wild Flowers Tell Me and Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony frame Britten’s Les Illuminations with the tenor Petr Nekoranec. The concert can be watched live online.

read more

watch here

7th May 2021

Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra

Mark joins the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra for a concert of music by Beethoven and Wagner, pairing the Pastoral Symphony with a Suite from Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg. The concert is streamed live online on May 12th.

read more

22nd April 2021

BBC Young Musician of the Year

Mark conducts the final of the BBC Young Musician of the Year with three young finalists and the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra in Bridgewater Hall, Manchester. The performance can be seen on BBC4 from May 2nd.

watch here

16th March 2021

Royal Opera House, Covent Garden

Mark conducts a new production of Mozart’s La Clemenza di Tito at The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. Directed by Richard Jones, these performances mark the return of live audiences to the Royal Opera House.

read more

8th March 2021

Beethoven’s First and Second Symphonies

Listen to the first two symphonies of Beethoven performed by the Orchestra of Welsh National Opera and Mark Wigglesworth. The concert will be broadcast live on Radio 3 on March 16th.

read more

12th February 2021

BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra

Mark joins the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra for a concert of music by Haydn, Shostakovich, Ravel, and Mozart. The performance can be heard live on BBC Radio 3 on February 25th.

read more

18th January 2021

Dialogues on the Time of Covid-19

On February 9th Mark Wigglesworth will be in conversation with the psychoanalyst Roger Kennedy, as part of The British Institute of Psychoanalysis’ Dialogues on the Time of Covid-19. ‘Music in times of a pandemic’ will be chaired by the psychoanalyst and musician Anthea Gomez.

read more

12th December 2020

The Royal Opera House Christmas Concerts

Mark conducts an operatic celebration of Christmas with the Orchestra and Chorus of The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. Soloists include Roderick Williams, Sophie Bevan, as well as past and present members of the Yette Parker Young Artists. It can be heard streamed live online on December 18th and on BBC Radio 3 on December 26th.

listen here

28th November 2020

Beethoven Fidelio

Mark joins Opera North for a performance of Beethoven’s Fidelio, streamed live online on December 12th. The cast includes Rachel Nicholls, Toby Spence, Brindley Sherratt, and Robert Hayward.

read more

8th November 2020

Mozart Requiem

Mark returns to English National Opera to conduct a performance of Mozart’s Requiem. The performance, given specially for television in order to comply with current restrictions, will be broadcast on BBC2 on November 14th and can be watched on bbciplayer.

watch here

12th October 2020

Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra

Mark conducts the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra in a programme of music by Haydn and Brahms at the Lighthouse, Poole. The concert is live streamed online and available to listen to until November 20th.

more details

2nd October 2020

Shostakovich’s Fourteenth Symphony

Mark’s performance of Shostakovich’s 14th Symphony with the Soprano Elizabeth Atherton, Bass Joshua Bloom, and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra can be heard here.

Listen

13th April 2020

Dead Man Walking

A performance of Jake Heggie’s Dead Man Walking conducted by Mark Wigglesworth at the Teatro Real, Madrid can be watched on line here. The production by Leonard Foglia stars Michael Mayes and Joyce di Donato.

Watch here

2nd March 2020

BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra

Mark conducts the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra this week in music by Firsova, Prokofiev, and Rachmaninov, whose 3rd Piano Concerto is performed by the BBC Young Musician of the Year Lauren Zhang.

read more

listen

7th February 2020

Beethoven

Mark Wigglesworth conducts Beethoven with the BBC Philharmonic at the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester. The rarely heard Cantata on the Death of Emperor Joseph II and the Funeral Music to Leonore Prohaska are followed by the Symphony No 7.

read more

listen

29th January 2020

The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

Mark Wigglesworth and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra perform Gustav Holst’s The Planets at the Royal Festival Hall in London on February 4th. They are joined by the pianist Khatia Buniatishvili for Liszt’s Second Piano Concerto and the concert opens with William Walton’s Overture Portsmouth Point.

read more

7th January 2020

On tour with the RPO

Mark is on tour in America with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Programmes include the Second Symphonies of Rachmaninov and Sibelius and for the Second Piano Concertos of Rachmaninov and Liszt they are joined by the pianists Khatia Buniatishvili and Olga Kern.

read more

25th September 2019

The Metropolitan Opera

Mark is in New York to conduct Gluck’s Orfeo ed Eurydice at The Metropolitan Opera. Mark Morris’ production stars Jamie Barton as Orfeo.

read more

20th August 2019

Australia

Mark is in Australia for concerts with the Sydney and Adelaide Symphony Orchestras. In Sydney there are performances of Shostakovich’s Symphony No 4 and, with the violinist James Ehnes, Khachaturian’s Violin Concerto. In Adelaide Mark is joined by Stephen Hough for performances of Brahms’ 2nd Piano Concerto and Vaughan Williams’ Symphony No 5.

listen to the Sydney Concert
read more Adelaide

29th April 2019

Perth and Adelaide

Mark Wigglesworth travels to Australia for performances of Elgar’s 1st Symphony with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra and Mahler’s 9th with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra. In both programmes he is joined by the clarinetist Andreas Ottensamer to play the Mozart Clarinet Concerto.

26th March 2019

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

Mark Wigglesworth conducts a programme of English music with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at Cadogan Hall in London on April 9th. Delius’ Walk to the Paradise Garden and Vaughan Williams’ 5th Symphony frame the Suite from Henry V by Walton, with Shakespeare’s texts spoken by the actor Samuel West.

read more

7th March 2019

Mark Wigglesworth in America

Mark travels to America this month for concerts in Miami and Detroit. With the New World Symphony he is joined by the pianist Hélène Grimaud for a performance of Ravel’s Piano Concerto and Mahler’s First Symphony. In Detroit, he and the DSO play Vaughan Williams’ Fifth Symphony and Sibelius’ Violin Concerto where the soloist will be Simone Lamsma.

read more New World Symphony

read more Detroit Symphony Orchestra

10th February 2019

Billy Budd

Benjamin Britten’s Billy Budd, directed by Annilese Miskimmon, conducted by Mark Wigglesworth, and starring Jacques Imbrailo, Peter Hoare, and John Relyea, can be watched on line.

watch here

16th December 2018

Billy Budd

Mark Wigglesworth conducts the Norwegian premiere of Britten’s opera Billy Budd. In a new production by Annilese Miskimmon, the cast includes Peter Hoare, John Relyea, and Jacques Imbrailo.

read more

6th November 2018

Britten’s War Requiem

This Remembrance Day, Mark Wigglesworth conducts the War Requiem by Benjamin Britten in St David’s Hall, Cardiff, to commemorate the centenary of Armistice Day. Soprano Emma Bell, Tenor Allan Clayton, and Baritone Roman Trekel join the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, the BBC National Chorus of Wales, the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama Chorus, and Gloucester Cathedral Boy Choristers for the performance that can be heard live on BBC Radio 3 at 7.30pm.

Listen here

21st October 2018

The Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra

Mark Wigglesworth is in Kuala Lumpur for concerts with Stephen Hough, James Ehnes, and the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra. Together they play music by Rachmaninov, Shostakovich, Verdi, Berg, and Sibelius.

11th October 2018

Mark Wigglesworth at the Petworth Festival

Mark Wigglesworth joins Stewart Collins on November 1st to discuss The Silent Musician at this year’s Petworth Festival.

More information

27th September 2018

Mark Wigglesworth and Nicholas Hytner in Conversation

On November 12th Faber & Faber host a conversation with Mark Wigglesworth and Nicholas Hytner to mark the publication of The Silent Musician. They talk about the similarities and differences between conducting music and directing theatre.

Read more

30th August 2018

The Silent Musician

Mark Wigglesworth’s book, ‘The Silent Musician ~ Why Conducting Matters‘ will be published by Faber & Faber on October 4th.

Pre-order a copy

21st August 2018

La Forza del Destino

Mark Wigglesworth returns to the Semperoper, Dresden for performances of Verdi’s La Forza del Destino.

read more

1st July 2018

From the House of the Dead

Listen to Mark Wigglesworth conduct Janáček’s final opera From the House of the Dead, in a new production at The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.

Listen

19th June 2018

Aldeburgh Festival

Mark Wigglesworth conducts the BBC National Orchestra of Wales at this year’s Aldeburgh Festival. The programme includes Dvořák’s Symphony No 9 ‘From the New World’, two works by Emily Howard, and Britten’s Violin Concerto in which the soloist is Vilde Frang.

read more

17th May 2018

Bruckner’s Seventh Symphony

Mark Wigglesworth travels to Australia and Malaysia for performances of Bruckner’s Seventh Symphony with the Adelaide Symphony and the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra. The violinists Grace Clifford and Joshua Bell join him for the Mendelssohn and Bruch Violin Concertos.

Adelaide: read more
Kuala Lumpur: read more

24th April 2018

BBC Young Musician of the Year

Mark Wigglesworth accompanies the three finalists in this year’s BBC Young Musician of the Year competition. The concert, given with the CBSO in Symphony Hall, Birmingham can be watched on BBC4 on May 13th.

read more

1st April 2018

La Forza del Destino

Mark Wigglesworth conducts a new production of Verdi’s La Forza del Destino at the Dresden Semperoper. The cast in Keith Warner’s staging includes Emily Magee, Gregory Kunde, Alexey Markov, and Stephen Milling.

read more

26th March 2018

Tokyo Symphony

Mark Wigglesworth is in Tokyo for a concert at Suntory Hall with the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra. Together with the violinist Jennifer Pike, they play music by Sibelius and Bruckner.

read more

19th February 2018

From the House of the Dead

Mark Wigglesworth conducts a new production of Janáček’s From the House of the Dead at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. The company’s first ever performances of this piece are directed by Krzysztof Warlikowski with a cast that includes Sir Willard White, Johan Reuter, Stefan Margita, Ladislav Elgr, Peter Hoare, and Graham Clark.

read more

19th December 2017

Dead Man Walking

Mark Wigglesworth conducts the Spanish and UK premieres of Jake Heggie’s opera Dead Man Walking in Madrid and London. Leonard Foglia’s production includes Joyce DiDonato, Michael Mayes, and Measha Bruggergosmann.
read more Madrid
read more London

6th November 2017

Mark Wigglesworth in America

Mark Wigglesworth is in North America this month for concerts with the New World Symphony, the Utah Symphony, and the Detroit Symphony. A performance of Shostakovich’s 10th Symphony will be streamed live on the Detroit Symphony Orchestra’s website on December 2nd at 8.00pm EST.

2nd October 2017

Royal Opera House, Covent Garden

Mark Wigglesworth will conduct a new production of Janáček’s From the House of the Dead at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden in March 2018. The company’s first ever production of this piece will be directed by Krzysztof Warlikowski.

read more

25th August 2017

Mark Wigglesworth has been appointed Principal Guest Conductor of the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra. Starting in 2018, he conducts the orchestra in three weeks of concerts including symphonies by Bruckner, Beethoven, and Shostakovich.

read more

26th July 2017

BBC Proms

Mark Wigglesworth conducts the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra at this year’s BBC Proms. Together they play David Sawer’s The Greatest Happiness Principle, Haydn’s Symphony No 99, and Brahms’ First Piano Concerto, for which the soloist is Stephen Hough.

read more
listen

12th April 2017

2017 Olivier Awards

Mark Wigglesworth has won the Outstanding Achievement in Opera Award at this year Olivier Awards for his conducting of Don Giovanni and Lulu with English National Opera.

10th March 2017

Olivier Awards

Mark Wigglesworth has been nominated alongside Renée Fleming and Stuart Skelton in the Outstanding Achievement in Opera category at this year’s Olivier Awards. The winner will be announced at a ceremony on April 9th.

read more

16th February 2017

National Symphony

Mark Wigglesworth replaces an indisposed Jaap van Zweden to conduct the National Symphony Orchestra in three performances at the Kennedy Center, Washington DC. The programme is Shostakovich’s First Violin Concerto with the soloist Simone Lamsma and Brahms’ 2nd Symphony.

read more

4th February 2017

BBC National Orchestra of Wales

Mark Wigglesworth conducts the BBC National Orchestra of Wales this week in music by Wagner, Mahler, and Stravinsky. The Overture and Venusberg Music from Tannhäuser and the original 1911 version of Petrushka frame a selection of songs from Des Knaben Wunderhorn in which the baritone soloist is Roderick Williams.

read more
listen

7th January 2017

Lulu

Listen to Alban Berg’s Lulu on BBC Radio 3. English National Opera’s production stars Brenda Rae, Nicky Spence, James Morris, Sir Willard White, Sarah Connolly, and David Soar and is conducted by Mark Wigglesworth

Listen

5th January 2017

What’s On Stage

Mark Wigglesworth wins Outstanding Contribution to the UK Operatic Scene in the WhatsOnStage Opera Poll 2017.

Read More

1st November 2016

Lulu

Mark Wigglesworth conducts five performances of Alban Berg’s Lulu with English National Opera. The cast includes Brenda Rae, Nicky Spence, James Morris, Sarah Connolloy, and Sir Willard White.

More details

27th September 2016

Don Giovanni

Mark conducts Mozart’s Don Giovanni at English National Opera. Richard Jones’ new production includes Christopher Purves in the title role, alongside Clive Bayley, Caitlin Lynch, Allan Clayton, and Christine Rice.

More details

9th July 2016

Wagner and Tippett at the BBC Proms

Mark Wigglesworth conducts the BBC National Orchestra and Chorus of Wales at The Royal Albert Hall on July 23rd. The programme pairs the final scene of Wagner’s Die Walküre alongside Tippett’s oratorio A Child of Our Time with the soloists Tamara Wilson, Susan Bickley, Peter Hoare, and James Creswell.
The performance is broadcast live on BBC Radio 3 and on BBC4 the following evening.

More details

Mark’s article about this concert on The Guardian website

 

15th June 2016

Jenůfa with English National Opera

Mark conducts six performances of Janáček’s Jenůfa with English National Opera at The London Coliseum. A revival of David Alden’s Olivier Award winning production includes Laura Wilde and Michaela Martens as the twin protagonists, and Peter Hoare and Nicky Spence as the jealous brothers.

Read more

23rd April 2016

Spring 2016

This April Mark performs with the Chorus of English National Opera as part of the 400th anniversary celebrations of Shakespeare in Stratford-upon-Avon and together they give three performances of Brahms’ A German Requiem in London. In May Mark conducts BBC Symphony Orchestra in the final of the BBC Young Musician of the Year at the Barbican.

Shakespeare Live

Brahms Requiem

BBC Young Musician of the Year

9th January 2016

The Magic Flute

Mark Wigglesworth conducts Mozart’s The Magic Flute at English National Opera. The cast, in Simon McBurney’s production, includes Lucy Crowe, Allan Clayton, Peter Coleman-Wright, James Creswell, Ambur Braid, and John Graham-Hall.

Read more

7th December 2015

The New World Symphony

Mark Wigglesworth is performing this week with The New World Symphony Orchestra. Together they play Schönberg’s Verklärte Nacht and Brahms’ 1st Symphony.

3rd November 2015

Verdi’s The Force of Destiny

Mark Wigglesworth conducts Verdi’s The Force of Destiny, its first performances at ENO for over twenty years. Calixto Bieito’s new production includes Tamara Wilson, Gwyn Hughes Jones, Anthony Michaels-Moore, James Creswell, and Andrew Shore.

Read more

7th June 2015

English National Opera

Mark Wigglesworth conducts four operas in his first season as Music Director of English National Opera. New productions of Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk and The Force of Destiny are followed by revivals of The Magic Flute and Jenufa. For more information visit the ENO website

22nd May 2015

Tippett in Brazil

Mark Wigglesworth is in Brazil for three performances of Michael Tippett’s A Child of Our Time. The São Paulo Symphony Orchestra and Chorus are joined by the soloists Measha Brueggergosman, Susan Bickley, Stuart Skelton, and Peter Coleman-Wright.

24th April 2015

Mark Wigglesworth in Australia

Mark Wigglesworth is in Australia for concerts with the Adelaide Symphony, the Sydney Symphony, and a performance given jointly by the Tasmanian Symphony and the Australian Youth Orchestra. Repertoire includes the Australian premiere of James MacMillan’s Viola Concerto with Lawrence Power, the complete cycle of Mahler’s songs Des Knaben Wunderhorn, and Shostakovich’s Tenth Symphony.

7th April 2015

Mahler and Bruckner

In April, Mark conducts Haydn’s Farewell Symphony and Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde with the Minnesota Orchestra followed by a selection of Mahler’s Knaben Wunderhorn songs and Bruckner’s Fourth Symphony with the BBC Scottish Symphony. The BBC concert can be heard live on Radio 3 on April 16th.

27th February 2015

The Royal Opera House

Mark Wigglesworth gives seven performances of Kurt Weill’s Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. The cast in this new production by John Fulljames includes Kurt Streit, Christine Rice, Sir Willard White, Peter Hoare, and Anne Sophie von Otter. It will be broadcast live by BBC Radio 3 on March 14th and screened live in cinemas on April 1st.

28th October 2014

The Dream of Gerontius

Mark Wigglesworth conducts Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius with the BBC National Orchestra and Chorus of Wales at St David’s Hall, Cardiff. They are joined by the soloists Peter Hoare, Anna Larsson, and Peter Rose, and the performance can be heard live on BBC Radio 3 at 7.30 on November 7th.

listen again

9th October 2014

Mark Wigglesworth at the Concertgebouw

Watch Mark Wigglesworth and The Netherlands Radio Philharmonic performing Schönberg, Mahler, and Stravinsky at the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam.

watch here

19th September 2014

October 2014

In October Mark Wigglesworth gives concerts in Holland, Belgium and France. With the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic he performs Schönberg, Mahler, Rachmaninov, and Stravinsky; Mozart, Beethoven, and Brahms with the Philharmonie ZuidNederland; and Shostakovich and Ravel with the Royal Flemish Philharmonic.

More Details

7th August 2014

Mark Wigglesworth and the BBCNOW at the Proms

Listen to Mark Wigglesworth’s concert with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales at the Royal Albert Hall in London and read the reviews here.

Listen

Read Reviews

31st July 2014

BBC Proms

On August 6th Mark conducts the BBC National Orchestra of Wales at the Proms. Elgar’s First Symphony is the main work in a programme that opens with Wagner’s Overture to Das Liebesverbot and the Violin Concerto by William Mathias.

1st July 2014

The Tokyo Symphony

This week Mark is in Japan to conduct Liszt and Wagner with the Tokyo Symphony at Suntory Hall and the Musa Kawasaki Symphony Hall. They play Henk de Vlieger’s arrangement of Wagner’s Ring and are joined by the pianist Yu Kosuge for Liszt’s Second Piano Concerto.

1st April 2014

New Recordings

Mark has two new recordings out this month. Shostakovich’s Fifteenth Symphony played by the Netherlands Radio Symphony Orchestra completes his much acclaimed cycle of all the Shostakovich Symphonies for BIS, whilst Onyx have released a live performance of the Khachaturian Violin Concerto in which the soloist is James Ehnes and the orchestra the Melbourne Symphony.

Shostakovich – more details

Khachaturian – more details

26th November 2013

The Brahms Piano Concertos

Hyperion have released a new recording of the Brahms Piano Concertos by Stephen Hough, Mark Wigglesworth, and the Mozarteumorchester.

read more

27th September 2013

Munich, Berlin, and Melbourne

Over the coming weeks Mark Wigglesworth performs in Munich, Berlin, and Melbourne. He returns to the Bavarian State Opera for Mozart’s Cosi fan Tutte with a cast led by Malin Byström as Fiordiligi. At the Berlin Philharmonie, he gives a concert of music by Ives, Barber and Mahler with the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester  Berlin, and then travels to Australia for Shostakovich Symphony No 10 and the Khachaturian Violin Concerto with James Ehnes and the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.

Munich read more

Berlin read more
Melbourne read more

3rd September 2013

Mark in Australia

Mark travels to Australia this month for concerts with the Adelaide and Sydney Symphony Orchestras. In Adelaide, Nicholas Daniel is the soloist in James MacMillan’s Oboe Concerto, a performance that includes the Prelude and Liebestod from Wagner’s Tristan and Isolde and Beethoven’s Symphony No 7. In Sydney, Henk de Vlieger’s arrangement of Wagner’s Ring is preceded by Chopin’s Piano Concerto No 2 in which the soloist will be Ingrid Fliter.

17th June 2013

Mark Wigglesworth at the Concertgebouw

Mark Wigglesworth and the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra give the opening concert of the 2013 Robeco Summer Nights Festival at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam. The main work is Henk de Vlieger’s arrangement of Wagner’s Ring and the programme also includes Brahms’ Concerto for Violin and Cello with the soloists Liza Ferschtman and Nicolas Altstaedt.

read more

30th May 2013

Mark Wigglesworth in Hong Kong

Mark Wigglesworth returns to the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra to conduct performances of music by Britten, Liszt, and Haydn.

Britten’s Sinfonia da Requiem and Haydn’s Symphony No 90 bookend both Piano Concertos by Liszt, for which the soloist is Stephen Hough.

read more

30th April 2013

Elgar in Australia

Mark Wigglesworth is spending the month of May in Australia and New Zealand for performances of Elgar’s First Symphony.
Members of the Australian Youth Orchestra team up with the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra for a concert that also includes Britten’s Sinfonia da Requiem whilst the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra are joined by pianist Yevgeny Sudbin for performances of Beethoven’s Second Piano Concerto.

8th April 2013

Tippett and Wagner

Mark Wigglesworth conducts a concert of music by Michael Tippett and Richard Wagner with the Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg. The Ritual Dances from Tippett’s opera The Midsummer Marriage are followed by the celebrated excerpts from Wagner’s Götterdämmerung for which the soprano Christine Brewer sings the role of Brūnnhilde.

read more

21st December 2012

Mark Wigglesworth in January 2013

Mark Wigglesworth begins 2013 with the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra. Together with soloists Ronald Brautigam and Eva-Maria Westbroek, they perform a concert in Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw celebrating the 125th anniversary of the building. Music includes works by Wagner, Mendelssohn, Prokofiev, and Verdi. From there Mark travels to Salzburg to perform and record the two Piano Concertos by Brahms with Stephen Hough and the Mozarteum Orchestra. This is followed by a month in the United States playing British music with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and the Julliard Orchestra in New York, and two performances of Shostakovich’s Symphony No 10 with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra.

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8th December 2012

Schubert and Bruckner in Vancouver

This weekend Mark Wigglesworth conducts the Vancouver Symphony in Vancouver, Canada. Bruckner’s Seventh Symphony is preceded by Schubert’s Unfinished.

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28th October 2012

Wagner and Tippett with the BBC Symphony Orchestra

Mark Wigglesworth recently gave a concert of music by Tippett and Wagner with the BBC Symphony Orchestra at the Barbican, London. With the Leopold String Trio, they performed Michael Tippett’s Triple Concerto and in the second half played Henk de Vlieger’s orchestral arrangement of Richard Wagner’s The Ring – An Orchestral Adventure.

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6th September 2012

Mark Wigglesworth and the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra

Mark Wigglesworth gives two concerts this weekend with the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra. They play the Violin Concerto by Brahms with Arabella Miho Steinbacher and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No 6, ‘Pathétique‘. The performances take place in Tokyo and Niigata.

21st August 2012

Mark Wigglesworth and The Netherlands Radio Philharmonic

Mark Wigglesworth’s recording with the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic of Shostakovich’s first three symphonies has now been released by BIS. This rare tripling of the composer’s early works shows the extraordinary direction Shostakovich might have taken had Stalin not got involved.

 

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27th June 2012

Mitridate in Munich

Mark Wigglesworth gives five performances of Mozart’s Mitridate, Rè di Ponto, with the Bayerische Staatsoper at the Prinzregententheater in Munich. The cast is led by Barry Banks, Anna Bonitatibus, Anja Nina Bahrmann, and Lawrence Zazzo.

23rd April 2012

Mark Wigglesworth and the Minnesota Orchestra

Mark Wigglesworth conducts Ravel’s complete ballet Daphnis et Chloė with the Minnesota Orchestra and the Minnesota Chorale. For the first half of the concert he is joined by the orchestra’s Principal Oboist Basil Reeve for a performance of Michael Berkeley’s Oboe Concerto.

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20th March 2012

Mark Wigglesworth and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra

Mark Wigglesworth’s latest CD release for Melba Recordings has received huge critical praise from the international press. The disc features Wigglesworth and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra in an all-British programme of Vaughan Williams The Lark Ascending, Flos Campi and On Wenlock Edge together with Benjamin Britten Sinfonia da Requiem. Described by the US Classical Review as “in the luxury class”, the recording has received universal critical acclaim from around the world.

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16th February 2012

Mark Wigglesworth and the Bayerische Staatsoper

Mark Wigglesworth travels to Hong Kong with the Bavarian State Opera. Together they give four performances of Mozart’s Cosi fan Tutte as part of the 2012 Hong Kong Arts Festival.

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5th February 2012

Mark Wigglesworth and the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic

This week Mark Wigglesworth conducts the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic in the Vredenburg, Utrecht and the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam. A programme of music from the 1920s brings together Jean Sibelius’ Symphony No 7, orchestral excerpts from Alban Berg’s Wozzeck (with soprano Susan Gritton) and Maurice Ravel’s La Valse and Bolero.

12th December 2011

Mark Wigglesworth on Dutch Television

Films of Mark Wigglesworth conducting Boulez and Ravel are currently available online. To watch performances of Rituel and Daphnis et Chloé with the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic at the Amsterdam Concertgebouw as well as documentaries about both pieces that Mark made for Dutch Television click here.

28th November 2011

Mark Wigglesworth in Monte-Carlo

On December 4th, Mark Wigglesworth conducts a performance of Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 in Monte-Carlo’s Grimaldi Forum. He is joined by the soprano Malin Hartelius, the contralto Nathalie Stutzmann, the Rundfunkchor Berlin, and the Orchestre Philharmonique Monte-Carlo.

21st November 2011

Mark Wigglesworth in Stockholm

Mark Wigglesworth is in Sweden for concerts with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra. They play Schubert’s Symphony No 9 ‘The Great’ and are joined by contralto Anna Larsson for a performance of Mahler’s Kindertotenlieder.

8th November 2011

Mark Wigglesworth in Munich

Mark Wigglesworth is in Munich where he will make his debut with the Bayerische Staatsoper. He conducts Mozart’s Cosi fan Tutte in a production by Dieter Dorn with a cast led by Miah Persson and Sir Thomas Allen.

21st October 2011

Mark Wigglesworth in Hong Kong

Mark Wigglesworth makes his debut in Hong Kong this week conducting the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra. The programme begins with Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony and ends with the Overture to Wagner’s Tannhäuser. In between the two, Mark is joined by the cellist Paul Watkins for a performance of the Elgar Cello Concerto.

31st August 2011

Mark Wigglesworth in Australia

Mark Wigglesworth is currently in Australia for performances at the Sydney Opera House. For Opera Australia he conducts Mozart’s Don Giovanni and with the Sydney Symphony performs a programme including the final symphonies of Lutoslawski and Dvorak.

6th August 2011

Mark Wigglesworth at the BBC Proms

Mark Wigglesworth returns to the BBC Henry Wood Proms. Replacing an indisposed Jiří Bělohlávek, he joins the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Symphony Chorus, the BBC Singers, and Trinity Boys Choir for a performance of Benjamin Britten’s Cantata Misericordium, Sinfonia da Requiem, and Spring Symphony. The concert opens with the world premiere of Joby Talbot’s orchestration of Purcell’s Chaconny in G Minor.

16th June 2011

Mark Wigglesworth’s Shaping the Invisible

Read Mark Wigglesworth’s regular column on The Gramophone Magazine website. In ‘Shaping the Invisible’, Mark writes about conducting and his fascination with the philosophies and psychologies that lie behind it.

Shaping the Invisible

26th May 2011

Mark Wigglesworth conducts the Camerata Salzburg in San Sebastian

Mark Wigglesworth will return to the Camerata Salzburg for a concert on 1st June at the Kursaal in San Sebastian. The programme opens with Debussy’s Prélude a l’après midi d’un faune, arranged by Schoenberg, followed by Webern’s Six Pieces, Op.10. The second half of the concert will feature Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde with soloists Petra Lang and Christian Elsner.

4th May 2011

Wigglesworth returns to the Minnesota Symphony Orchestra

On 19, 20 and 21 May, Wigglesworth will return to the Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis for three concerts with the Minnesota Symphony Orchestra. The concerts will begin with Rachmaninov’s Symphony No.3, and the second half will include Ravel’s Mother Goose Suite and Stravinsky’s Suite from The Firebird.

4th March 2011

Nikolaus Lehnhoff’s production of Parsifal at English National Opera – with Mark Wigglesworth conducting, Iain Paterson singing Amfortas and Jane Dutton as Kundry – has received international critical acclaim.

“I find it almost impossible to believe that Mark Wigglesworth has never conducted Parsifal before… it sounded as though he’d been soaked in the score all his life and thought of nothing else,” commented Rupert Christiansen in the Daily Telegraph. “The orchestra was inspired to playing of a smoothness and security which would not have disgraced the Berlin Phil. To ENO’s Wagnerian pantheon… the name of Mark Wigglesworth must now be added.”

In The Times, Richard Morrison wrote: “Mark Wigglesworth’s lovingly-crafted Wagner conducting is one of the revelations of recent years, and the ENO orchestra and thrillingly augmented chorus perform brilliantly.”

Anthony Tommasini of the New York Times said: “The accomplished British conductor Mark Wigglesworth… drew warm, plush and sensitive playing from the orchestra.”

24th February 2011

English National Opera

Mark Wigglesworth makes a keenly-anticipated return to English National Opera to conduct Wagner’s Parsifal in a revival of Nikolaus Lehnhoff’s acclaimed production.

8th February 2011

Mark Wigglesworth makes a keenly-anticipated return to English National Opera to conduct Wagner’s Parsifal in a revival of Nikolaus Lehnhoff’s acclaimed production.

Wigglesworth leads an impressive cast. Bass-baritone Iain Paterson stars as the fallen priest-king Amfortas and soprano Jane Dutton sings the role of Kundry. The production also features John Tomlinson (Gurnemanz) and Stuart Skelton (Parsifal).

The production opens on February 16 with eight performances running until March 12.

4th January 2011

Mark Wigglesworth performs Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony and Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde with the Mozarteum Orchestra at the Salzburg Großes Festspielhaus.

On 16 January, Mark Wigglesworth conducts the Mozarteum Orchestra at the Salzburg Großes Festspielhaus in a programme of Beethoven Pastoral Symphony and Mahler Das Lied von der Erde with mezzo soprano Petra Lang and tenor Stuart Skelton.

Throughout January and early February, Wigglesworth is otherwise busy in London in rehearsal for English National Opera’s production of Parsifal which opens on 16 February.

4th November 2010

Mark Wigglesworth returns to the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic

Mark Wigglesworth returned to the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic on 3 and 4 November to conduct a programme of Wagner Prelude from Parsifal, Bartók Piano Concerto No.3 (with soloist Kirill Gerstein) and Mozart Symphony No.41 ‘Jupiter’.

12th October 2010

Mark Wigglesworth concludes his Shostakovich cycle on the BIS label.

In October 2010, Mark Wigglesworth will record the final disc of his 12 year project to record all of the Shostakovich Symphonies for BIS. The majority of the recordings have been made with the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, and the cycle has been consistently praised as one of the most important Shostakovich cycles to be recorded in recent times.

“Wigglesworth’s long view of where the symphony is heading is a crucial component of this interpretation, but it also embraces a kaleidoscopic variety of character, be it the icy funeral march at the start of the finale, the passages of stirring brilliance in Shostakovich’s orchestral writing, or those moments where the composer seems to be retreating into his own contemplative thoughts. The emotional force is intense.” 
Symphony No.4, The Telegraph, five stars

3rd September 2010

Mark Wigglesworth returns to Australia for concerts with both the Melbourne and Sydney Symphony Orchestras

With the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra he conducts two programmes celebrating music written in 1910: the first of Sibelius Symphony No.4, Ravel Mother Goose Suite and Richard Strauss Der Rosenkavalier Suite and the second of Bartok Two Portraits for Orchestra, Stravinsky Firebird Suite and Elgar Violin Concerto with James Ehnes.

Wigglesworth returns to the Sydney Symphony Orchestra with Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No.2 and Shostakovich Symphony No.15.

12th August 2010

At Aspen & Grand Teton Music Festival

Mark Wigglesworth appeared at the Aspen Festival in August, conducting a programme of Brahms Piano Concerto No.1 with soloist Stephen Hough, and Sibelius Symphony No.2.  The performance was preceeded by two concerts at the Grand Teton Music Festival in Jackson Hole.

5th July 2010

Japan debut

Mark Wigglesworth made his Japanese debut in June, conducting the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra in a programme of Wagner, Prokofiev and Brahms.  He appeared at Suntory Hall on 18 June and at the Muza Kawasaki Hall on 20 June.