MARK ELDER became Music Director of the Hallé in September 2000. Following critical acclaim for his many concerts with the Orchestra in Manchester, London and throughout England, he recently led the Hallé during a highly successful residency in Vienna. Frequently invited to work with many of the world's leading symphony orchestras and opera companies, he was awarded the CBE by the Queen in 1989 and won an Olivier Award for his outstanding work at English National Opera, where he was Music Director between 1979 and 1993.
He was Principal Guest Conductor of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra from 1992 to 1995, and Music Director of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra in the USA from 1989 to 1994. He has also held positions as Principal Guest Conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra and the London Mozart Players. In addition to working with orchestras all over the world (including the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Orchestre de Paris) he enjoys a close association with both the London Philharmonic and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment (OAE). He has appeared annually at the BBC Proms for many years, including, in 1987, the Last Night, and in 2001 he conducted the Hallé in a memorable Verdi Centenary Celebration.
During his years at ENO he brought international acclaim to the company for its work in London, as well as leading tours to the USA and Russia. He is a frequent guest with the Royal Opera, Metropolitan Opera in New York, Opéra National de Paris, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Glyndebourne Festival Opera and the Bayerische Staatsoper, Munich. Other guest engagements have taken him to the Bayreuth Festival (where he was the first British conductor to conduct a new production), Amsterdam, Berlin and Sydney. In collaboration with the director Barrie Gavin, he made a two-part film on the life and music of Verdi for BBC TV in 1994, which was followed by a similar project on Donizetti for German television in 1996.
He has conducted Verdi's Otello and Saint-Saens's Samson et Dalila for the Metropolitan Opera. Other recent opera engagements have included Debussy's Pelléas et Mélisande for the Opéra National de Paris, Stravinsky's The Rake's Progress for Glyndebourne, Verdi's La battaglia di Legnano, Rossini's La Cenerentola for the Royal Opera, Humperdinck's Hansel und Gretel for the Lyric Opera of Chicago and, recently, Weber's Euryanthe for Glyndebourne, which was also broadcast live on Radio 3 as part of the BBC Proms and Puccini's Turandot at the Bastille, Paris. This season's operatic plans include Un ballo in maschera for the Lyric Opera of Chicago (which opened in February) and Wagner's Lohengrin for the Royal Opera (opens June 2003).
Mark Elder has made many recordings with orchestras including the London Philharmonic, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and the Rochester Philharmonic, as well as with English National Opera, in repertoire ranging from Verdi, Strauss and Wagner to contemporary music. The Hallé CD label has recently been launched with three recordings, conducted by Mark Elder, featuring Elgar's Symphony No.1, 'Enigma' Variations and Nielsen's Symphony No.5 and Flute Concerto. Forthcoming symphonic engagements, apart from his commitment to the Hallé, include the Chicago Symphony, the Sydney Symphony and projects with the London Philharmonic and the OAE, as well as a BBC Prom with the Hallé on 26 July.