That’s a tribute to the conducting of Geoffrey Paterson, whose instinct for pace lets the score pulse and glow.

The Spectator (Orphée, English National Opera)

About

Hailed as a conductor with ‘natural and charismatic authority’ (Opera World), Geoffrey Paterson is renowned for his ‘impressive command’ (The Telegraph) and ‘impeccable grace’ (The Guardian) in repertoire extending from the Baroque to music of the present day. His work in the concert hall and the opera house is praised for his ‘winning combination of assuredness, agility and enthusiasm’ (The Telegraph) as well as his ‘instinct for pace’ (The Spectator) and ‘innate feel for orchestral texture’ (MusicOMH).

In 2020 he made his televised BBC Proms debut with Steve Reich’s City Life, returning in 2022 to continue a longstanding collaboration with the London Sinfonietta and Norwegian saxophonist and composer Marius Neset. Other memorable concert performances of recent years have included Strauss’s own film-score reworking of Der Rosenkavalier with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment in Vienna and London, the first ever performance by the Warsaw Philharmonic of Elgar’s 2nd Symphony, Strauss’s Bourgeois Gentilhomme with the Hamburg Symphony Orchestra and Bernstein’s West Side Story to an audience of 10,000 with the Danish National Symphony Orchestra.

In the current season Geoffrey Paterson makes scheduled concert debuts with the Warsaw Philharmonic and Arctic Philharmonic orchestras (performing two programmes with each) as well as short-notice concert debuts with the Malmö Symphony, BBC Philharmonic, Janáček Philharmonic and Helsinki Philharmonic orchestras and a recording debut with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at Abbey Road Studios. He conducts for the first time at the Royal Ballet, Covent Garden in a mixed bill of contemporary ballets and returns to the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Aarhus Symphony, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Ensemble 10:10, BCMG, London Sinfonietta and the Nash Ensemble at Wigmore Hall. Other return engagements this season include the Hamburg Symphony Orchestra for his Elbphilharmonie debut with Dvořák’s 9th Symphony, the Danish National Symphony for Weill’s Seven Deadly Sins with Danielle de Niese and the Brighton Philharmonic for MacMillan’s Veni, Veni, Emmanuel with Dame Evelyn Glennie.

Paterson’s extensive and varied repertoire includes Porgy and Bess and Die Fledermaus for the Royal Danish Opera, Die Entführung aus dem Serail for Glyndebourne on Tour, La Bohème for Opera North, Philip Glass’ Orphée for English National Opera, Massenet’s Le portrait de Manon at Covent Garden and The Nutcracker and Cinderella for the Royal Danish Ballet. He made his debut at Frankfurt Opera conducting a new production of Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream directed by Brigitte Fassbaender, with other recent engagements taking him to the Dutch National Opera and Bavarian State Opera.

Other ensembles with whom he has performed and recorded include the Philharmonia, BBC Symphony Orchestra, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Aurora Orchestra, Orchestre National de Lille, Copenhagen Phil, Norwegian Radio Orchestra, Stavanger Symphony Orchestra, Basel Sinfonietta, Musikkollegium Winterthur, Bayerische Kammerphilharmonie, Munich Chamber Orchestra, National Orchestra of Belgium, Amsterdam Sinfonietta and Residentie Orchestra.

He is renowned for his work in the field of late 20th-century and contemporary music. Amongst the numerous world premières he has conducted are works by Sir Harrison Birtwistle, Sir Peter Maxwell Davies and James Dillon, and his performances of masterpieces by the greatest composers of the last hundred years (Carter, Boulez, Stockhausen, Berio, Ligeti, Knussen, Abrahamsen and Benjamin among many others) have been widely praised in the British and international press. With a background in composition (he was a pupil of Alexander Goehr) alongside masterclass studies with Boulez and Eötvös, he brings insight, technical command and an exacting ear to music whose secrets are only revealed through a rare combination of fastidiousness and inspiration. Testament to these achievements is his long relationship with the London Sinfonietta, many of whose landmark performances of the last decade he has been invited to conduct.

Geoffrey Paterson began his career working with some of the world’s most distinguished opera conductors. During his tenure as a Jette Parker Young Artist at the Royal Opera he was mentored by Sir Antonio Pappano, assisting him on works by Mozart and Verdi and playing for his rehearsals of Wagner’s Meistersinger and Ring cycle. His work at Covent Garden and Glyndebourne also led him to collaborate closely with Daniele Gatti, Andris Nelsons, and Sir Mark Elder on operas by Verdi, Strauss, Britten and Berg, and subsequently he was invited to join Kirill Petrenko’s team of musical assistants for a new production of the Ring at the Bayreuth Festival.

He lives with his family in the seaside town of Whitstable, and in his spare time indulges in a love of classic cars and brutalist architecture. He is represented worldwide for general management by Intermusica.

He is renowned for his work in the field of late 20th-century and contemporary music. Amongst the numerous world premières he has conducted are works by Sir Harrison Birtwistle, Sir Peter Maxwell Davies and James Dillon, and his performances of masterpieces by the greatest composers of the last hundred years (Carter, Boulez, Stockhausen, Berio, Ligeti, Knussen, Abrahamsen and Benjamin among many others) have been widely praised in the British and international press. With a background in composition (he was a pupil of Alexander Goehr) alongside masterclass studies with Boulez and Eötvös, he brings insight, technical command and an exacting ear to music whose secrets are only revealed through a rare combination of fastidiousness and inspiration. Testament to these achievements is his long relationship with the London Sinfonietta, many of whose landmark performances of the last decade he has been invited to conduct.

Geoffrey Paterson began his career working with some of the world’s most distinguished opera conductors. During his tenure as a Jette Parker Young Artist at the Royal Opera he was mentored by Sir Antonio Pappano, assisting him on works by Mozart and Verdi and playing for his rehearsals of Wagner’s Meistersinger and Ring cycle. His work at Covent Garden and Glyndebourne also led him to collaborate closely with Daniele Gatti, Andris Nelsons, and Sir Mark Elder on operas by Verdi, Strauss, Britten and Berg, and subsequently he was invited to join Kirill Petrenko’s team of musical assistants for a new production of the Ring at the Bayreuth Festival.

He lives with his family in the seaside town of Whitstable, and in his spare time indulges in a love of classic cars and brutalist architecture. He is represented worldwide for general management by Intermusica.

Back To Top