Sir Mark Philip Elder (born 2 June 1947) is a British conductor. He is currently music director of the Hallé Orchestra in Manchester, England.

Life and career

Elder was born in

Hexham Hexham ( ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Northumberland, England, on the south bank of the River Tyne, formed by the confluence of the North Tyne and the South Tyne at Warden, Northumberland, Warden nearby, and ...

, Northumberland, the son of a dentist. He played the

bassoon The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family, which plays in the tenor and bass ranges. It is composed of six pieces, and is usually made of wood. It is known for its distinctive tone color, wide range, versatility, and virtuo ...

when in primary school, and at Bryanston School, Dorset, where he was one of the foremost musicians (bassoon and keyboards) of his generation. He attended

Corpus Christi College, Cambridge Corpus Christi College (full name: "The College of Corpus Christi and the Blessed Virgin Mary", often shortened to "Corpus"), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. From the late 14th century through to the early 19th century ...

as a choral scholar, where he studied music. He later became a protégé of Sir Edward Downes and gained experience conducting Verdi operas (as well as Prokofiev's ''War and Peace'' and

Wagner's Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...

''Meistersinger'') in Australia, at the

Sydney Opera House The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in Sydney. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive buildings and a masterpiece of 20th-century architec ...

Family

Elder and his wife, Mandy, have a daughter, Katie.

The ENO and association with several orchestras

From 1979 to 1993, Elder was the music director of English National Opera (ENO). He was known as part of the "Power House" team that also included general director Peter Jonas and artistic director David Pountney, and gave ENO several very successful years of productions. Elder served as principal guest conductor of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (1992–1995) and music director of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra (1989–1994). He held positions as Principal Guest Conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra (1982–1985) and the London Mozart Players (1980–1983).

The Hallé years

Elder was appointed music director of the Hallé Orchestra in 1999. His first concert as music director was in October 2000. He proposed several novel ideas for concerts. These have included the abandonment of traditional concert evening garb. Elder is generally regarded as having restored the orchestra to high musical standards, after a period where the continuing existence of the orchestra was in doubt. In 2004, he signed a contract to extend his tenure from 2005 to 2008, with an optional two-year extension at the end of that time. A 2005 report indicated that Elder would be with the orchestra until at least 2010. In May 2009, the orchestra announced the extension of Elder's contract to 2015. In November 2013, the Hallé announced the further extension of Elder's contract through "at least 2020". Elder has been president of the

London Philharmonic Choir The London Philharmonic Choir (LPC) is one of the leading independent British choirs in the United Kingdom based in London. The patron is Princess Alexandra, The Hon Lady Ogilvy and Sir Mark Elder is president. The choir, comprising more than ...

from 2014 and is currently the

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is the oldest conservatoire in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the first Duke of ...

's Barbirolli Chair of Conducting. In November 2021, the

Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra The Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra is a Norwegian orchestra based in Bergen. Its principal concert venue is the Grieg Hall. History Established in 1765 under the name ''Det Musicalske Selskab'' (The Musical Society), it later changed its name t ...

announced the appointment of Elder as its next principal guest conductor, effective from 1 August 2022, with an initial contract of three years through 31 July 2025.

Public pronouncements

Elder first conducted the ''

Last Night of the Proms The BBC Proms or Proms, formally named the Henry Wood Promenade Concerts Presented by the BBC, is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert H ...

'' in 1987. He was scheduled to conduct again in 1990, but his remarks about the nature of some of the traditional Proms selections in the context of the impending first Gulf War led to his dismissal from that engagement. In 2006, he returned to conduct the BBC Symphony Orchestra for his second "Last Night" engagement, and used the traditional speech at the end of the concert to criticise aircraft baggage restrictions, in place following the uncovering of the

2006 transatlantic aircraft plot The 2006 transatlantic aircraft plot was a terrorist plot to detonate liquid explosives, carried aboard airliners travelling from the United Kingdom to the United States and Canada, disguised as soft drinks. The plot was discovered by British M ...

, which have made it difficult for musicians to carry their instruments on aircraft. In a reference to the fact that laptop computers are now allowed in aircraft cabins, Elder said, "...it seems to me that next year we should all look forward to 'Concerto for Laptop and Orchestra'." He made a plea for children to be given more opportunity to sing at school.

Honours

Elder was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 1989

Queen's Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours, in some Commonwealth realms, mark the reigning British monarch's official birthday by granting various individuals appointment into national or dynastic orders or the award of decorations and medals. The honours are present ...

. He won an Olivier Award in 1991 for his outstanding work at English National Opera. He received the 2006 conductor prize of the Royal Philharmonic Society. In April 2007, Elder was one of eight conductors of British orchestras to endorse the 10-year classical music outreach manifesto, "Building on Excellence: Orchestras for the 21st Century", to increase the presence of classical music in the UK, including giving free entry to all British schoolchildren to a classical music concert. Elder was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

in the

of June 2008. He was appointed

Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour The Order of the Companions of Honour is an order of the Commonwealth realms. It was founded on 4 June 1917 by King George V as a reward for outstanding achievements. Founded on the same date as the Order of the British Empire, it is sometimes ...

(CH) in the

2017 Birthday Honours The 2017 Queen's Birthday Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as pa ...

for services to music.

Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment

In addition to being involved in the above-named orchestras, Elder became "principal artist" of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment in December 2011. As noted in the article: "His first project with the OAE as principal artist was

o give O, or o, is the fifteenth letter and the fourth vowel letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''o'' (pronounced ), pl ...

a performance of Berlioz's ''

Romeo and Juliet ''Romeo and Juliet'' is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about the romance between two Italian youths from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetim ...

'' on 18 February 2012 at the Royal Festival Hall, London."

Style

Describing his own conducting style, Elder has said that in contrast to Sir

Adrian Boult Sir Adrian Cedric Boult, CH (; 8 April 1889 – 22 February 1983) was an English conductor. Brought up in a prosperous mercantile family, he followed musical studies in England and at Leipzig, Germany, with early conducting work in London ...

, who was famously non-perspirational: :I'm quite a physical conductor. I remember seeing Adrian Boult backstage after the 1978 Proms and he was wearing a freshly ironed light blue M&S shirt and he said to me "I see you're one of the sweaty ones."

Recordings and writing

Elder has recorded for the

Hyperion Hyperion may refer to: Greek mythology * Hyperion (Titan), one of the twelve Titans * ''Hyperion'', a byname of the Sun, Helios * Hyperion of Troy or Yperion, son of King Priam Science * Hyperion (moon), a moon of the planet Saturn * ''Hyp ...

, NMC, Chandos,

Opera Rara Opera Rara is a London-based opera company and recording label which specialises in recording and performing forgotten operatic repertoire from the 19th and early 20th centuries. Founded in 1970 by bel canto enthusiasts Patric Schmid and Don Whi ...

, and Glyndebourne record labels, as well as for the Hallé Orchestra's own label. In addition to his conducting and recording activities, Elder also has written on music for '' The Guardian'' and other newspapers.

References

External links

Mark Elder biography at the Bridgewater HallInterview with Mark Elder at MusicalCriticism.com, 13 June 2008
* * ttp://www.bruceduffie.com/elder.html Two Interviews with Mark Elderby Bruce Duffie, 20 October 1986 & 10 October 1997 {{DEFAULTSORT:Elder, Mark 1947 births Living people People from Hexham English conductors (music) British male conductors (music) Music directors (opera) People educated at Bryanston School Knights Bachelor Conductors (music) awarded knighthoods Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Alumni of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge Fellows of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge Honorary Members of the Royal Academy of Music 20th-century British conductors (music) 20th-century English musicians 21st-century British conductors (music) 21st-century English musicians Members of the Order of the Companions of Honour 20th-century British male musicians 21st-century British male musicians