Christopher Hogwood

Christopher Hogwood has worked with most leading symphony orchestras and opera houses in the world. Once described as “the von Karajan of early music”, he is universally acknowledged as one of the most influential exponents of the historically informed early-music movement. He is equally passionate about music of the 19th and 20th centuries: with a particular focus on the Early Romantics and the neo-classical school (Martinů, Stravinsky, Britten, Copland, Tippett and Honegger), he applies the same rigour and supreme musicianship to all his work, striving to discover and to recreate the composer’s intentions both in notation and performance. “His name is a byword for excellence of playing and quality of supporting scholarship” (BBC Music Magazine).
Highlights among future projects include a 4-concert series with the Beethovenorchester Bonn focusing on classical and neo-classical repertoire, symphonic projects with the Bayerische Staatsorchester Munich, WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln, Bremer Philharmoniker, Frankfurter Museumsorchester, Warsaw Philharmonic, RAI Orchestra Turin, Maggio Musicale Florence, concerts at the Prague Spring and Grafenegg festivals, as well as a revival of ‘Le Nozze di Figaro’ at the Opernhaus Zürich.
Christopher Hogwood’s reputation as a one of the world’s most eloquent advocates of period performance was recently acknowledged in Asia where he received the Beijing Music Festival’s 2010 'Artist of the Year ' award for his contribution to Baroque music, following a highly successful tour conducting orchestras in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Guangzhou and Beijing.
His conducting projects are closely connected to his research and editing work. He is in the process of a completing a new edition of Mendelssohn’s orchestral works for Bärenreiter and sits on the board of the Martinů Complete Edition and the C.P.E. Bach Complete Works Edition. In 2010 he launched his latest project as General Editor of the new Geminiani Opera Omnia for Ut Orpheus Edizioni in Bologna.
Christopher Hogwood’s discography, which includes the complete Mozart and Beethoven symphonies, boasts over 200 recordings with the Academy of Ancient Music on Decca, many of which have attracted some of the world’s most prestigious awards.