Thomas Adès

Born in London in 1971, Thomas Adès studied piano at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, and read music at King’s College, Cambridge. Between 1993 and 1995 he was composer in association with the Hallé Orchestra, which resulted in The Origin of the Harp (1994) and These Premises Are Alarmed for the opening of the Bridgewater Hall in 1996. Asyla (1997) was a Feeney Trust commission for Sir Simon Rattle and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. Rattle subsequently programmed Asyla in his opening concert with the Berliner Philharmoniker as Music Director in September 2002.

Adès’s first opera, Powder Her Face, has been performed all round the world, was televised by Channel Four, and is available on a DVD as well as an EMI CD. Most of the composer’s music has been recorded by EMI. Adès’s second opera, The Tempest, was commissioned by London’s Royal Opera House and was premiered to great critical acclaim in 2004. In 2005 his Violin Concerto for Anthony Marwood was premiered at the Berliner Festspiele and the BBC Proms, with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe under his baton. His second orchestral work for Simon Rattle, Tevot (2007), was commissioned by the Berliner Philharmoniker and Carnegie Hall.

Adès’s reputation worldwide is now such that a number of international festivals have programmed focuses on his music. In addition, Carnegie Hall New York has appointed him to the Richard and Barbara Debs Composer’s Chair and features him as composer, conductor, and pianist throughout the 2007–08 season.

Adès is also a renowned interpreter of a range of other music, and his performances and recordings of composers such as Kurtág, Nancarrow, Schumann, Schubert, Ruders, Tchaikovsky, Barry, and Beethoven have been critically acclaimed. The many orchestras he has conducted include the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, the Philharmonia, Orchestre National de Radio France, the London Symphony Orchestra, the Hallé Orchestra, the BBC, and ensembles such as Birmingham Contemporary Music Group, the London Sinfonietta, Ensemble Modern, and the Athelas Ensemble.

Adès’s music has attracted numerous awards and prizes, including the prestigious Grawemeyer Award (2000), of which he is the youngest-ever recipient. He has been Artistic Director of the Aldeburgh Festival since 1999.