Paul Daniel
- This article is about the conductor. For the stage magician see Paul Daniels.
Paul Daniel CBE (born 5 July 1958,[1] Birmingham, England)[2] is an English conductor. He is particularly noted for performances and recordings of opera and of British music.
As a boy, he sang in the choir of Coventry Cathedral, where he received musical training. He attended King's College, Cambridge where he studied music. After graduation he went on to learn conducting at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, where his teachers included Sir Adrian Boult and Sir Edward Downes. In 1982, he received a position on the musical staff of the English National Opera, remaining there until 1987. He also became the Music Director of Opera Factory. In the late '80s he was Musical Director of a number of amateur choirs, notably Wokingham Choral Society, often featuring his future wife, the soprano Joan Rodgers.
From 1987 to 1990, Daniel was music director of Opera Factory. From 1990 to 1997, Daniel was Musical Director of Opera North and Principal Conductor of the English Northern Philharmonia. He attracted attention for his work in neglected operas and newer repertory. The former included Dukas' Ariane et Barbe-bleue, Tippett's King Priam, Schreker's Der Ferne Klang, Korngold's Violanta, and Gloriana. He conducted Opera North in its 1992 debut at The Proms with Boris Godunov. The latter included conducting the world premieres of Michael Berkeley's Baa, Baa, Black Sheep and Benedict Mason's Playing Away, which was premiered at the Munich Biennale and won awards for best production and design.
Daniel became Music Director of English National Opera in September 1997[3] He encountered difficulty early in his tenure at ENO, with the departure of Dennis Marks as ENO's general director about a month after Daniel's own arrival. This forced Daniel unexpectedly to assume a more public role as the artistic face of the organization, until the arrival of Nicholas Payne as general director. One analysis of this situation was that this additional work distracted Daniel from developing a fuller rapport with the orchestra.[4] In December 2003, Daniel announced his resignation from ENO at the end of his contract in 2005.[5] In addition, towards the later part of his tenure, there were reports of clashes between Daniel and ENO artistic director Sean Doran.[6] [7] He expressed concerns about the future of ENO in an April 2005 interview with The Guardian,[8] [9] which led to ENO's Director of Marketing, Ian McKay, booing Daniel at the conductor's last performance as ENO music director.[10]
Daniel first guest-conducted the West Australian Symphony Orchestra (WASO) in 1995, and returned in April 2006.[11] In May 2007, Daniel was named WASO's next Principal Conductor, effective as of January 2009,[12] with an initial contract through December 2011. In November 2010, the WASO announced the extension of Daniel's contract as principal conductor through December 2013.[13]
Daniel became principal guest conductor of the Real Filharmonía de Galicia (Santiago de Compostela) in 2007. In January 2012, he was named the orchestra's next principal conductor and artistic adviser, as of January 2013, with an initial contract of 3 years.[14]
Daniel's honours include receiving an Olivier Award in February 1998 for outstanding achievement in opera, and a Gramophone Award in 1999 for his English music series on Naxos Records. He was awarded the CBE in the 2000 New Year’s Honours list. In September 2005, Daniel conducted the Last Night of the Proms ] for the first time.[15] [16]
[edit] Trivia
At the opening of the Millennium Dome, Daniel wore a coat designed specifically for the occasion by Vivienne Westwood. He went on to wear it for other occasions, including the BBC Proms.
[edit] References
- ^ "Birthdays for 5 July 2003". The Times, 5 July 2003.
- ^ Christopher Morley (2007-02-16). "Daniel's forever young". Birmingham Post. http://icbirmingham.icnetwork.co.uk/birminghampost/reviews/tm_headline=daniel%2Ds-forever-young%26method=full%26objectid=18631796%26siteid=50002-name_page.html. Retrieved 2007-02-19.
- ^ Richard Morrison, "An operatic baton charge". The Times, 21 January 2003.
- ^ Rupert Christiansen (2005-05-11). "The arts column: Daniel's trials in the ENO lions' den". Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/3641856/The-arts-column-Daniels-trials-in-the-ENO-lions-den.html. Retrieved 2007-03-16.
- ^ Rupert Christiansen (2003-12-05). "ENO musical director resigns". Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1448535/ENO-musical-director-resigns.html. Retrieved 2007-02-19.
- ^ Mark Honigsbaum (2005-11-30). "Chaos at the Coliseum after shock resignation of ENO artistic director". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2005/nov/30/arts.artsnews1. Retrieved 2007-02-19.
- ^ Rupert Christiansen (2005-12-22). "Chairman of opera house defends his record as he quits". Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1506080/Chairman-of-opera-house-defends-his-record-as-he-quits.html. Retrieved 2007-02-19.
- ^ Charlotte Higgins (2005-04-22). "House of pain". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2005/apr/22/classicalmusicandopera1. Retrieved 2007-02-19.
- ^ Charlotte Higgins (2005-04-22). "Outgoing ENO boss speaks out". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2005/apr/22/arts.artsnews1. Retrieved 2007-02-19.
- ^ Richard Jinman (2005-06-09). "ENO chief follows up boos with apology". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2005/jun/09/arts.artsnews. Retrieved 2007-02-19.
- ^ Harriet Cunningham, "Paul Daniel named principal conductor in Perth". Gramophone, 21 May 2007.
- ^ Stephen Bevis, "English maestro to conduct WASO". The West Australian, 17 May 2007.
- ^ "Paul Daniel to continues as WASO's Principal Conductor" (Press release). West Australian Symphony Orchestra. 9 November 2010. http://www.waso.com.au/pdfs/mediareleases/MEDIA_RELEASE_Paul_Daniel_contract_announcement_FINAL.pdf. Retrieved 2012-02-25.
- ^ "Paul Daniel sustituirá a Ros Marbà al frente de la Real Filharmonía". Santiago Siete. 2012-01-25. http://www.santiagosiete.es/articulo/2012/04/paul-daniel-sustituira-ros-marba-frente-real-filharmonia. Retrieved 2012-02-25.
- ^ Rupert Christiansen (2005-09-12). "Bigger, and even better". Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/classicalmusic/3646512/Bigger-and-even-better.html. Retrieved 2007-02-19.
- ^ Tom Service (2005-09-12). "Last Night of The Proms: BBCSO and Chorus/Daniel (Royal Albert Hall, London)". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2005/sep/12/classicalmusicandopera.proms20051. Retrieved 2007-02-19.
[edit] External links
- History of Wokingham Choral Society
- West Australian Symphony Orchestra page on Paul Daniel
- "Paul Daniel takes Spanish appointment". Ingpen & Williams agency press release, January 2012
| Preceded by David Lloyd-Jones |
Music Director, Opera North 1990-1997 |
Succeeded by Elgar Howarth (Music Advisor) |
| Preceded by Sîan Edwards |
Music Director, English National Opera 1997-2005 |
Succeeded by Edward Gardner |
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