Beethoven: Three Great Works
04/08/23 at 08:00pm
Gordon Hunt
Conductor
Gordon Hunt was born in London and studied with Terence MacDonagh. He has an acclaimed career in five continents as a soloist and conductor, and also regularly takes master classes and plays with many renowned ensembles. In addition, he has a distinguished orchestral career as Principal Oboe in the Philharmonia and London Chamber Orchestras. Previously he has held the same position in the London Philharmonic, and has also played as Guest Principal with the Berlin Philharmonic.
Recognised as one of the world's leading oboists, he appears regularly as soloist with international orchestras, having worked with conductors such as Ashkenazy, Andrew Davis, Giulini, Kondrashin, Muti, Sir John Pritchard, Sir Simon Rattle, Sinopoli, Tate and Welser-Most. A performance of the Mozart Oboe Concerto in Berlin received a standing ovation, and critics wrote that, "With his crystal clear, aristocratic tone, he undoubtedly ranks as one of the greatest exponents of his instrument". He has performed concertos and recitals throughout the world, including the Bach double concerto for violin and oboe with Pinchas Zukerman in Europe, America and the Far East on the English Chamber Orchestra's World Tour.
Gordon Hunt broadcasts frequently on radio and television and his recordings, for many of the major labels, include Mozart's Oboe Quartet, Concerto and Sinfonia Concertante, and concertos by Malcolm Arnold, Vivaldi, Bach and Druschetzky. His recording of the Richard Strauss Oboe Concerto with the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra and Vladimir Ashkenazy (Decca) was received with great critical acclaim, as was the Haydn Sinfonia Concertante with Zukerman and the English Chamber Orchestra (BMG).
A disc of Bliss, Bax and Britten chamber music for oboe and string quartet, released in 1997 and a disc of British music for solo oboe, "Soliloquy", released in 1998, received glowing reviews in the international record press. Both are on BIS, for whom he recorded concertos by Holmboe and Sæverud in 1999, and the very popular disc of Baroque concertos, "Elevazione".
As a conductor, he has an increasingly busy schedule. He was Music Director of the Swedish Chamber Winds from 1991-1997 and as well as continuing to work with wind ensembles in several countries, he has appeared with the National Symphony Orchestra of South Africa, the Johannesburg Philharmonic, the Swedish Chamber Orchestra, Aalborg Symphony Orchestra and the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra in New Zealand. He was Artistic Director of the Danish Chamber Players from 2001-2004. He now works regularly with the Danish Radio Sinfonietta.
Gordon Hunt is an Honorary Associate of the Royal Academy of Music and a professor at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. He is much in demand for advice from students and professionals worldwide. He is a member of the jury for the International Oboe Competition of Tokyo, held triennially.
Engagements for the next three years as soloist and conductor include visits to France, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, South Africa, South America, the U.S.A., Australia, Canada and Japan, as well as concerts in Great Britain.