2001- 2006
Elgar Howarth studied music at Manchester University and the Royal Manchester College of Music, where his first study was composition. His conducting career began in the early 1970's and since then he has appeared regularly with all the leading British orchestras both in the concert hall and in the recording studio.
Abroad, mostly in Europe, he has appeared at major festivals and conducted many well-known orchestras including the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra, Bayerischer Rundfunk Symphony, Zurich Tonhalle, Berlin Radio Symphony, Stockholm Philharmonic, Swedish Radio Symphony, Residentie Orchestra, Seattle Symphony, French National Radio Symphony, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Austrian Radio Orchestra and Royal Flanders Philharmonic. He has toured Australia, conducting the Sydney, Melbourne and Queensland Symphony Orchestras and appearing at the Brisbane Biennial. He has also toured Japan with the London Sinfonietta, an orchestra he has conducted regularly both in the UK and abroad from the beginning of his career.
His operatic achievements cover a wide repertoire and include the world premiere of Ligeti's Le Grand Macabre at the Royal Opera in Stockholm, followed by productions of the same work in Hamburg, Paris and London. Other productions include La Clemenza di Tito and Peter Grimes in Stockholm, I Pagliacci and Chaynes' award-winning Erzsebet in Paris, The House of the Dead and Lulu in Gothenburg, Tosca in Oslo, Wozzeck in Pargue, King Priam and Billy Budd in Flanders, The Rake's Progress in Brussels, Billy Budd in Cologne and Boris Godunov at the Australian Opera. He conducted Peter Grimes with the Royal Opera House Covent Garden in Savonlinna in summer 1998. In 1985 he made his debut at Covent Garden with King Priam which he later performed with the same company at the Athens Festival. For Glyndebourne he has conducted The Barber of Seville, Falstaff, Nigel Osborne's The Electrification of the Soviet Union and Birtwistle's The Second Mrs Kong and The Last Supper. He conducted the world premiere of Birtwistle's Gawain at Covent Garden in May 1991 and the revivals in 1994 and 2000. A recording has been released by Collins Classics. For Garsington Opera he has conducted Intermezzo, Die Schweigsame Frau, Sarka and Osud, Daphne, Die Ägyptische Helena, Die Liebe der Danae and Genoveva. He conducted Figaro's Wedding at the inaugural season at Grange Park Opera.
For English National Opera he has conducted Boris Godunov and Hansel and Gretel, as well as contemporary works: Birtwistle's The Mask of Orpheus, Tippett’s King Priam, Henze's The Prince of Homburg and Zimmermann's Die Soldaten. For his work on these last two productions Elgar Howarth won the 1997 Olivier award for 'Outstanding achievement in Opera'. He was principal Guest Conductor of the English Northern Philharmonia from 1985-1989. In addition to conducting many concerts with this orchestra, he appears frequently with the sister company, Opera North (where he was music advisor from 1996 – 99), in repertoire which has included Nabucco, La Bohéme, Katya Kabanova, A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Marriage of Figaro, the British premiere of Nielsen's Masquerade, The Jewel Box, Billy Budd and Arabella.
Recently he has conducted Jenufa for Opera North, The Handmaiden’s Tale for ENO and Cherevichki at Garsington.
Elgar Howarth was Artistic Director of The National Youth Brass Band of Great Britain from 2001 to 2005 and also Artistic Director of the Grimethorpe Colliery Band,
He retains an interest in composing especially, as a former trumpet player, for brass instruments. His works are published by Chester Music and Novello, and are much recorded, particularly on the Decca label.
