Ryan Wigglesworth
‘Wigglesworth writes music stamped with iridescent hues, instrumental finesse, shapely ideas and a lyrical impulse that stays within reach even when textures turn prickly… [his] bright ear for glinting textures, his flair for taut motivic interplay, his conjuror’s ability to cast a spell.’ The Times
Composer, conductor, pianist Ryan Wigglesworth was born in Yorkshire in 1979. He was educated at Oxford University and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and between 2007 and 2009 was a Lecturer at Cambridge University and a Fellow of Corpus Christi College.
His first orchestral work, Sternenfall, written for the BBC Symphony Orchestra and premiered under the composer’s direction in February 2008, established Wigglesworth as one of the leading composers of his generation. Two further works for the BBC SO immediately followed: The Genesis of Secrecy, commissioned by the BBC Proms and premiered in August 2009 conducted by Sir Andrew Davis; and Augenlieder, which went on to receive the vocal prize at the 2010 British Composer Awards. He is Composer-in-Residence with English National Opera who will premiere his opera based on Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale in 2017. He has also served as Daniel R. Lewis Composing Fellow with the Cleveland Orchestra, with whom Franz Welser-Möst conducted the first performance of his Études-Tableaux in January 2015.
As a conductor, Wigglesworth assumed his position as Principal Guest Conductor of the Hallé Orchestra, in September 2015. He also enjoys a close relationship with the BBC Symphony Orchestra. Other recent appearances include the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, English National Opera, Chamber Orchestra of Europe, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, London Philharmonic, Bergen Philharmonic, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, and Bamberg Symphony.
Upcoming debuts include Sao Paulo Symphony, Bavarian Radio Symphony, and Royal Concertgebouw orchestras. In 2013 he received the Critics’ Circle Award for Exceptional Young Talent. Wigglesworth’s live recordings of Julian Anderson (which won a Sky Arts Award) and Vaughan Williams recently appeared on the LPO label. His recordings of orchestral works by Harrison Birtwistle with the Hallé for NMC (NMC D156) won awards from Gramophone and BBC Music magazines.
‘Wigglesworth writes music stamped with iridescent hues, instrumental finesse, shapely ideas and a lyrical impulse that stays within reach even when textures turn prickly… [his] bright ear for glinting textures, his flair for taut motivic interplay, his conjuror’s ability to cast a spell.’ The Times
Composer, conductor, pianist Ryan Wigglesworth was born in Yorkshire in 1979. He was educated at Oxford University and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and between 2007 and 2009 was a Lecturer at Cambridge University and a Fellow of Corpus Christi College.
His first orchestral work, Sternenfall, written for the BBC Symphony Orchestra and premiered under the composer’s direction in February 2008, established Wigglesworth as one of the leading composers of his generation. Two further works for the BBC SO immediately followed: The Genesis of Secrecy, commissioned by the BBC Proms and premiered in August 2009 conducted by Sir Andrew Davis; and Augenlieder, which went on to receive the vocal prize at the 2010 British Composer Awards. He is Composer-in-Residence with English National Opera who will premiere his opera based on Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale in 2017. He has also served as Daniel R. Lewis Composing Fellow with the Cleveland Orchestra, with whom Franz Welser-Möst conducted the first performance of his Études-Tableaux in January 2015.
As a conductor, Wigglesworth assumed his position as Principal Guest Conductor of the Hallé Orchestra, in September 2015. He also enjoys a close relationship with the BBC Symphony Orchestra. Other recent appearances include the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, English National Opera, Chamber Orchestra of Europe, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, London Philharmonic, Bergen Philharmonic, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, and Bamberg Symphony.
Upcoming debuts include Sao Paulo Symphony, Bavarian Radio Symphony, and Royal Concertgebouw orchestras. In 2013 he received the Critics’ Circle Award for Exceptional Young Talent. Wigglesworth’s live recordings of Julian Anderson (which won a Sky Arts Award) and Vaughan Williams recently appeared on the LPO label. His recordings of orchestral works by Harrison Birtwistle with the Hallé for NMC (NMC D156) won awards from Gramophone and BBC Music magazines.
Recordings by this composer
Recordings
