Paul Francis Kildea is an Australian conductor and author, considered an expert on

Benjamin Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976, aged 63) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, other ...

Life

Paul Francis Kildea was born and raised in Narrabundah,

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

, and attended St Edmund's College, Narrabundah, where his piano teacher was Keith Radford. He studied piano and musicology at the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...

where he met the musicologist

Malcolm Gillies Malcolm George William Gillies Member of the Order of Australia, AM (born 23 December 1954) is an Australian Musicology, musicologist and linguist, who served as vice-chancellor (education), vice-chancellor of City University London, City Unive ...

. Kildea's 2013 book, '' Benjamin Britten: A Life in the Twentieth Century'', is dedicated "For two teachers, Malcolm and Keith", a nod to Gillies and Radford. He also gained a doctorate from the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

. His doctoral

thesis A thesis ( : theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: ...

was published as ''Selling Britten'' (2002). The filming rights to Kildea's 2018 book, ''Chopin's Piano'', have been acquired by Donald Rosenfeld of Sovereign Films;

Daniil Trifonov Daniil Olegovich Trifonov (russian: Дании́л Оле́гович Три́фонов; born 5 March 1991) is a Russian pianist and composer. Described by ''The Globe and Mail'' as "arguably today's leading classical virtuoso" and by ''The Tim ...

is slated to perform Chopin's music. He was associated with

Opera Australia Opera Australia is the principal opera company in Australia. Based in Sydney, its performance season at the Sydney Opera House accompanied by the Opera Australia Orchestra runs for approximately eight months of the year, with the remainder of ...

, becoming assistant conductor to

Simone Young Simone Margaret Young AM (born 2 March 1961) is an Australian conductor. She is currently chief conductor of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. Biography and career Young was born in Sydney, of Irish ancestry on her father's side and Croatian ...

after his 1997 conducting debut with

Leoš Janáček Leoš Janáček (, baptised Leo Eugen Janáček; 3 July 1854 – 12 August 1928) was a Czech composer, musical theorist, folklorist, publicist, and teacher. He was inspired by Moravian and other Slavic musics, including Eastern European fol ...

's ''

The Cunning Little Vixen ''The Cunning Little Vixen'' (original title ''Příhody lišky Bystroušky'' or ''Tales of Vixen Sharp-Ears'' in English), is a three-act Czech-language opera by Leoš Janáček completed in 1923 to a libretto the composer himself adapted from a n ...

''. Kildea was head of music for the

Aldeburgh Festival The Aldeburgh Festival of Music and the Arts is an English arts festival devoted mainly to classical music. It takes place each June in the Aldeburgh area of Suffolk, centred on Snape Maltings Concert Hall. History of the Aldeburgh Festival Th ...

1999–2002, and artistic director of

Wigmore Hall Wigmore Hall is a concert hall located at 36 Wigmore Street, London. Originally called Bechstein Hall, it specialises in performances of chamber music, early music, vocal music and song recitals. It is widely regarded as one of the world's leadin ...

2003–05. From 2014 until 2016 he served as artistic director of the biennial Four Winds Festival in Bermagui on the New South Wales South Coast.People – Previous Artistic Directors
fourwinds.com.au In 2019 he was appointed artistic director of

Musica Viva Australia Musica Viva was founded in 1945 by Romanian-born violinist Richard Goldner, with the aim of bringing chamber music to Australia. The co-founder was a German-born musicologist, Walter Dullo. At its inception, Musica Viva was a string ensemble perf ...

."Paul Kildea is Musica Viva’s new Artistic Director"
by Justine Nguyen, ''

Limelight Limelight (also known as Drummond light or calcium light)James R. Smith (2004). ''San Francisco's Lost Landmarks'', Quill Driver Books. is a type of stage lighting once used in theatres and music halls. An intense illumination is created when ...

'', 3 June 2019 Kildea resides in Melbourne, Australia.

Bibliography

*''Britten: Selling Britten'' (2002) *''Britten on Music'' (2003) *'' Benjamin Britten: A Life in the Twentieth Century'' (2013) *''Chopin's Piano'' (2018)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kildea, Paul Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Australian conductors (music) Australian male writers Australian musicologists People from Canberra University of Melbourne alumni Alumni of the University of Oxford Writers from the Australian Capital Territory 21st-century Australian writers 20th-century Australian musicians 20th-century conductors (music) 21st-century Australian musicians 21st-century conductors (music) Britten scholars