Donald Runnicles plays piano for the Deutsche Oper Berlin

Sir Donald Cameron Runnicles OBE HonFRSE (born 16 November 1954,

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

, Scotland) is a Scottish conductor.

Life and career

The son of William Runnicles, a director of a furniture supply company and a choirmaster and organist, and Christine Runnicles, he began his education at

George Heriot's School George Heriot's School is a Scottish independent primary and secondary day school on Lauriston Place in the Old Town of Edinburgh, Scotland. In the early 21st century, it has more than 1600 pupils, 155 teaching staff, and 80 non-teaching staff. ...

in Edinburgh, moving later to

George Watson's College George Watson's College is a co-educational independent day school in Scotland, situated on Colinton Road, in the Merchiston area of Edinburgh. It was first established as a hospital school in 1741, became a day school in 1871, and was m ...

which offered a specialised music education facility, followed by the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 1 ...

and

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge founded by the Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort. In constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corporation established by a charter dated 9 April 1511. The ...

. He studied for a year at the

London Opera Centre The London Opera Centre, a school for the training of opera singers and other opera professionals, existed in England between 1963 and 1978. It was located in the former Troxy Cinema on Commercial Road in London's East End Borough of Stepney (now ...

. Runnicles began his operatic career as a singers' coach and assistant conductor in

Mannheim Mannheim (; Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (german: Universitätsstadt Mannheim), is the second-largest city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg after the state capital of Stuttgart, and Germany's ...

, Germany. He became ''Generalmusikdirektor'' of the city of

Freiburg Freiburg im Breisgau (; abbreviated as Freiburg i. Br. or Freiburg i. B.; Low Alemannic: ''Friburg im Brisgau''), commonly referred to as Freiburg, is an independent city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. With a population of about 230,000 (as o ...

, Germany in 1989. Referring to the 10 years he spent in Germany, Runnicles has said : "I have to breathe this air, this Wagnerian air. It was life-changing and that love affair with Wagner led to what was influenced by him: the Bruckner, the Mahler." In the USA, Runnicles served as Music Director and Principal Conductor of the

San Francisco Opera San Francisco Opera (SFO) is an American opera company founded in 1923 by Gaetano Merola (1881–1953) based in San Francisco, California. History Gaetano Merola (1923–1953) Merola's road to prominence in the Bay Area began in 1906 when h ...

from 1992 to 2009. After the conclusion of his contract, he is scheduled to continue to work with the company as a guest conductor. Runnicles has served as Principal Guest Conductor of the

Atlanta Symphony Orchestra The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra (ASO) is an American orchestra based in Atlanta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, USA. The ASO's main concert venue is Atlanta Symphony Hall in the Woodruff Arts Center. History Though earlier organizations bearing ...

since September 2001, and his current contract there runs through 2014. From 2001 to 2007, he was also Principal Conductor of the Orchestra of St. Luke's. Runnicles had been offered the title of Music Director of the Orchestra of St. Luke's, but he declined the title. He became Music Director of the Grand Teton Music Festival in September 2005, having been appointed that August. His Grand Teton contract was extended through 2011, and subsequently to 2019. Runnicles first conducted the

BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra The BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra (BBC SSO) is a Scottish broadcasting symphony orchestra based in Glasgow. One of five full-time orchestras maintained by the British Broadcasting Corporation ( BBC), it is the oldest full-time professional r ...

(BBC SSO) in 2001. In October 2007, the BBC SSO announced the appointment of Runnicles as their next Chief Conductor in September 2009, for an initial contract of three years. The BBC SSO appointment marks Runnicles' first principal post with a British orchestra. In September 2011, the BBC SSO extended his contract as chief conductor through 2015. In October 2014, the orchestra reported the scheduled conclusion of Runnicles' tenure as chief conductor in September 2016. His final concert as the BBC SSO's chief conductor was on 28 August 2016, and he now has the title of conductor emeritus of the BBC SSO. In October 2007, the

Deutsche Oper Berlin The Deutsche Oper Berlin is a German opera company located in the Charlottenburg district of Berlin. The resident building is the country's second largest opera house (after Munich's) and also home to the Berlin State Ballet. Since 2004, the D ...

announced the appointment of Runnicles as their next ''Generalmusikdirektor'', effective August 2009, for an initial contract of five years. In December 2016, the company announced the newest extension of Runnicles' contract with the Deutsche Oper Berlin until 2022. In November 2020, the Deutsche Oper Berlin announced the most recent extension of Runnicles' contract as its GMD, through 2027. Adelle Eslinger-Runnicles and Donald Runnicles at the Deutsche Oper Berlin

Adelle Eslinger-Runnicles and Donald Runnicles at the Deutsche Oper Berlin

Runnicles has two daughters, Ashley and Tamara, from his past marriage to the South African violist Elizabeth Prior. and an older daughter, Alexandra, whom he fathered in Germany. He is currently married to the Canadian pilates teacher Adelle Eslinger.

Honours and Awards

Runnicles holds an honorary doctorate from the University of Edinburgh and

Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland ( gd, Conservatoire Rìoghail na h-Alba), formerly the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama ( gd, Acadamaidh Rìoghail Ciùil is Dràma na h-Alba) is a conservatoire of dance, drama, music, production, and ...

, as of February 2011. In 2019, Runnicles was elected an Honorary Fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was established i ...

. Runnicles 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 church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the G ...

in the

2020 Birthday Honours The Queen's Birthday Honours for 2020 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 ...

for services to music.

Discography

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classic ...

: '' Symphony No. 9'',

* Bellini: '' I Capuleti e i Montecchi'' / Jennifer Larmore *

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: '' Peter Grimes'' /

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DVD 2008 * Britten: ''

Billy Budd ''Billy Budd, Sailor (An Inside Narrative)'' is a novella by American writer Herman Melville, left unfinished at his death in 1891. Acclaimed by critics as a masterpiece when a hastily transcribed version was finally published in 1924, it quickl ...

'' /

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Vienna Festival __NOTOC__ The Wiener Festwochen (Vienna Festival) is a cultural festival in Vienna that takes place every year for five or six weeks in May and June. The Wiener Festwochen was established in 1951, when Vienna was still occupied by the four Alli ...

2001. * Britten: '' Sinfonia da Requiem'' / Elgar, Davies, Turnage *

Gluck Christoph Willibald (Ritter von) Gluck (; 2 July 1714 – 15 November 1787) was a composer of Italian and French opera in the early classical period. Born in the Upper Palatinate and raised in Bohemia, both part of the Holy Roman Empire, he ...

: ''

Orfeo ed Euridice ' (; French: '; English: ''Orpheus and Eurydice'') is an opera composed by Christoph Willibald Gluck, based on the myth of Orpheus and set to a libretto by Ranieri de' Calzabigi. It belongs to the genre of the '' azione teatrale'', meaning a ...

'' ( Berlioz version) / Jennifer Larmore,

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(SFO). * Humperdinck: '' Hansel und Gretel'' / Larmore, Ziesak. * Korngold: ''

Die tote Stadt ' (German for ''The Dead City''), Op. 12, is an opera in three acts by Erich Wolfgang Korngold set to a libretto by Paul Schott, a collective pseudonym for the composer and his father, Julius Korngold. It is based on the 1892 novel '' Bruges-la-Mo ...

'' /

Salzburg Festival The Salzburg Festival (german: Salzburger Festspiele) is a prominent festival of music and drama established in 1920. It is held each summer (for five weeks starting in late July) in the Austrian town of Salzburg, the birthplace of Wolfgang Ama ...

2004. * MacMillan: ''Violin Concerto'' and ''Symphony No. 4''/

, 2016. *

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition r ...

: ''

Requiem A Requiem or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead ( la, Missa pro defunctis) or Mass of the dead ( la, Missa defunctorum), is a Mass of the Catholic Church offered for the repose of the soul or souls of one or more deceased persons, ...

'' / Levin Edition. *

: '' Symphony No. 39 and Symphony No. 41 "Jupiter"'' / Orchestra of St. Luke's, 2011. * Orff: ''

Carmina Burana ''Carmina Burana'' (, Latin for "Songs from Benediktbeuern" 'Buria'' in Latin is a manuscript of 254 poems and dramatic texts mostly from the 11th or 12th century, although some are from the 13th century. The pieces are mostly bawdy, irreverent ...

'' / Hong, Atlanta. * Puccini: ''

Turandot ''Turandot'' (; see below) is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini, posthumously completed by Franco Alfano in 1926, and set to a libretto in Italian by Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni. ''Turandot'' best-known aria is " Nessun dorma", ...

'' /

Éva Marton Éva Marton (born 18 June 1943) is a Hungarian dramatic soprano, particularly known for her operatic portrayals of Puccini's '' Turandot'' and '' Tosca'', and Wagnerian roles. Vocal training and early years Marton was born in Budapest, wher ...

, Michael Sylvester. SFO. (DVD,

Naxos Records Naxos comprises numerous companies, divisions, imprints, and labels specializing in classical music but also audiobooks and other genres. The premier label is Naxos Records which focuses on classical music. Naxos Musical Group encompasses about 1 ...

) *

Strauss Strauss, Strauß or Straus is a common Germanic surname. Outside Germany and Austria ''Strauß'' is always spelled ''Strauss'' (the letter " ß" is not used in the German-speaking part of Switzerland). In classical music, "Strauss" usually re ...

: '' Capriccio'' /

Kiri Te Kanawa Dame Kiri Jeanette Claire Te Kanawa , (; born Claire Mary Teresa Rawstron, 6 March 1944) is a retired New Zealand opera singer. She had a full lyric soprano voice, which has been described as "mellow yet vibrant, warm, ample and unforced". Te ...

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, Director: Peter Maniura. SFO. (DVD) * Strauss: ''

Ein Heldenleben ''Ein Heldenleben'' (''A Hero's Life''), Op. 40, is a tone poem by Richard Strauss. The work was completed in 1898. It was his eighth work in the genre, and exceeded any of its predecessors in its orchestral demands. Generally agreed to be a ...

'', and others / NDR SO Hamburg. * Strauss: ''

Four Last Songs The ''Four Last Songs'' (german: Vier letzte Lieder, link=no), Op. posth., for soprano and orchestra are – with the exception of the song "Malven" (Mallows), composed later the same year – the final completed works of Richard Strauss. They ...

''; Wagner: '' Liebestod'' /

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. *

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: ''

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'' / Brewer, Treleaven, Rose. * Wagner: ''

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''; Strauss: ''

'';

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: '' Seven Early Songs'' /

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* Wagner: ''Arias, Wesendonck Lieder'' /

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, DO * Wagner: ''

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'' / 'Orchestral Scenes',

Dresden Staatskapelle The Staatskapelle Dresden (known formally as the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden) is a German orchestra based in Dresden, the capital of Saxony. Founded in 1548 by Maurice, Elector of Saxony, it is one of the world's oldest and most highly re ...

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: ''

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'' /

References

External links

Official website of Donald Runnicles

BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra

Grand Teton Music Festival

Interview with Donald Runnicles in Exberliner Magazine
*

by Bruce Duffie, May 1, 1995 {{DEFAULTSORT:Runnicles, Donald Scottish conductors (music) British male conductors (music) Knights Bachelor Conductors (music) awarded knighthoods Music directors (opera) Living people 1954 births Musicians from Edinburgh People educated at George Heriot's School People educated at George Watson's College Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Officers of the Order of the British Empire 21st-century British conductors (music) 21st-century British male musicians