Julian Reynolds

Biography

Born in London, Julian Reynolds studied piano with Albert Ferber and Noretta Conci and at the Vienna Hochschule für Musik. At age 18, he started working as music staff with the European Community Youth Orchestra (ECYO), assisting Claudio Abbado and Leonard Bernstein. He made his solo recital debut at Wigmore Hall in London and was finalist at the 1984 Ferruccio Busoni Competition in Bolzano. After obtaining a degree in History, Musicology and Analysis from the Kings College London University, he studied conducting at the Guildhall School of Music and later in Vienna. As conductor of the European Chamber Orchestra Per Musica, he toured Europe appearing at the Pesaro Rossini Festival, the Evian Festival and London’s Queen Elizabeth Hall, extensively recording with the ensemble.

He was appointed Assistant Music Director at the Netherlands Opera in Amsterdam in 1986, conducting Bluebeard’s Castle, Mitridate, Le Nozze di Figaro, L’Italiana in Algeri, Luisa Miller, L’Elisir d’Amore, Il Barbiere di Siviglia and Norma (available on DVD for Opus Arte), among numerous others. During his tenure at the Netherlands Opera, he worked with other presenters in the country, most notably in productions of Madama Butterfly and The Cunning Little Vixen with Opera Zuid, and semi-staged performances of Norma and The Merry Widow at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. He is a regular guest conductor at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, conducting La Traviata, Don Carlos, Samson et Dalila and Le Nozze di Figaro.

Highlights of his collaborations include: Otello at the Staatstheater Stuttgart; Luisa Miller at the Staatstheater Mainz; Gianni Schicchi and Il Barbiere di Siviglia at the Grand Théâtre de la Ville in Luxembourg; L’Italiana in Algeri at the Canadian Opera Company in Toronto; Weinberger’s Svanda the Bagpiper at the Wexford Opera Festival, released by Naxos; Carmen at the Teatro Regio in Parma and the Arena di Verona; Generali’s Adelina at the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro; acclaimed performances of Puccini’s Il Trittico in Modena, Ferrara and Piacenza; La Cenerentola, Otello, Tosca, Norma and Hänsel und Gretel in St. Gallen; Madama Butterfly at the Puccini Festival in Torre del Lago (Italy); La Bohème and Don Giovanni in Riga; Elisabetta Regina d’Inghliterra, Lucia di Lammermoor and Norma with Edita Gruberova at the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie in Brussels; and Lucrezia Borgia at the Festivales de Musica de Castillon. He recently conducted Il Trovatore in Oviedo, Nabucco and Lucia di Lammermoor in Brussels, Maria Stuarda in Moscow and Lucia di Lammermoor in Brussels.

Enjoying an extensive symphonic repertoire, Mr. Reynolds has been a guest conductor of the Rotterdam Philharmonic, City of Birmingham Symphony, The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, The Australian Chamber Orchestra, Aukland Philharmonia, Dutch Radio Philharmonic, Netherlands Philharmonic, Netherlands Chamber Orchestra, Melbourne International Festival, Teatro San Carlo in Naples, and the orchestra of the Deutsche Oper am Rhein, where he led his own orchestration of Alma Mahler’s Lieder, that he recorded with soprano Charlotte Margiono for Globe Records. Active recital accompanist, he has extensively collaborated with Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Susan Graham and Dame Kiri Te Kanawa.

His discography includes recordings of Rossini Overtures, Ravel’s Ma Mère l’Oye, Saint-Saens’s Le Carnaval des Animaux and several Rossini rarities for Globe Records. As pianist, he has recorded Beethoven, Schubert and Schumann’s complete works for piano and violin opposite violinist Johannes Leertouwer. He also recorded two well received albums, Rossini Mezzo — Scenes and Arias and Spanish Heroines, with Spanish Mezzo Silvia Tro Santafe for Signum Classics.