2012 - 2013 Season
Musical Director: Adrian P. Brown
Photo by Peter Dazeley
Adrian Brown comes from a distinguished line of Sir Adrian Boult's most gifted pupils. After graduating from the Royal Academy of Music in London, he studied intensively with Sir Adrian for some years. He remains the only British conductor to have reached the finals of the Karajan Conductors' Competition: in fact, the Berlin Philharmonic was the first professional orchestra he conducted. Sir Adrian wrote: 'He has always impressed me as a musician of exceptional attainments who has all the right gifts and ideas to make him a first-class conductor.'
In 1992 Adrian Brown was engaged to conduct one of the great orchestras of the world: the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra. In 1998 Sir Roger Norrington recommended him to conduct the Camerata Salzburg, one of Europe's foremost chamber orchestras. In addition, Adrian has conducted many leading British orchestras including the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and the London Sinfonietta. He is also a great proponent of contemporary music and has several first performances to his credit.
In 1972 Adrian was appointed Music Director of Stoneleigh Youth Orchestra, a position from which he stands down in March 2013 after 40 years. In honour of this, a Celebratory Concert will be held in Cadogan Hall on the 24th of that month. It is felt that he has made some contribution to the musical education of quite a few youngsters over a long period. Working with young musicians has also been an area where Adrian Brown has made a valuable contribution to British musical life, as well as in Europe, Japan and the Philippines. He has frequently conducted both the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain (working closely with Sir Colin Davis and Sir Roger Norrington) and the National Youth Wind Orchestra. He regularly runs courses for young musicians, coaches gifted young conductors and was given the Novello Award for Youth Orchestras at the 1989 Edinburgh Festival.
The 2011-12 Season saw three concerts with the Corinthian Chamber Orchestra performing Elgar's First Symphony in May again on the South Bank. This was an amazing success, endorsing opinions that Adrian is a major Elgar Conductor. Bromley Symphony had already enjoyed this understanding with Elgar's Violin Concerto and Sasha Rozdestvensky as soloist. Other works in the repertoire were Mahler's First, Berlioz Fantastique, the Mozart and Brahms Requiems and a Jubilee Concert in Ely Cathedral in June presenting Elgar's Coronation Ode and Berlioz's Te Deum.
Plans for 2012-13 will include one work at least of Britten for the Centenary with every orchestra, appropriate for Suffolk born and bred Adrian. One such instance is a return to the Salomon Orchestra in February conducting Sinfonia da Requiem in St John's Smith Square. He will perform Britten Songs in the birthplace, Lowestoft, with Waveney Sinfonia, the Violin Concerto conducting the Corinthian Chamber Orchestra in St James', Piccadilly in May plus two other appearances and the Grimes 'Sea Interludes' with Hunts Phil.
In Bromley Bruckner's Eighth and the Elgar Cello Concerto with Jamie Walton are highlights. Perhaps, though, the most moving performance will be Tippett's A Child of Our Time with Hunts Phil. Then a cherished dream; preparation for a performance of Berlioz, Les Troyens in Autumn 2013-14.
Adrian Brown was one of a hundred musicians presented with a prestigious Classic FM Award at their Tenth Birthday Honours Celebration in June 2002.
"No histrionics here - just honest music-making of quality. Adrian Brown conducted a superb reading of Rachmaninoff's Third Symphony which was excellently played to a very high technical standard. There is always something special about such music when it has obviously been so thoroughly rehearsed." Alexander Leonard, Musical Opinion.