Hogwood has appeared in many of the world’s leading opera houses including Théâtre National de l’Opéra de Paris, London’s Royal Opera House, Deutsche Oper Berlin and Sydney’s Opera House. Most recently, his performances of Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas at La Scala, Milan this summer were hailed as the “most evocative moment of the La Scala Season”. (La Corriere Della Sera — July 2006) Future plans include his first visit to Leipzig Opera.

Hogwood began his career as a keyboard player over forty years ago and has been a major force in the revolution that has forever changed the way music is performed, recorded and heard. Based on the principle of discovering and, as far as possible, recreating the composer’s intentions, both in notation and performance, his approach begins with musicology — going back to the original sources, correcting published errors, tracking changes in subsequent editions. Only then does he apply his deep knowledge of performance practice to the rehearsal room, concert hall and recording studio.

His repertoire ranges from mediaeval to contemporary music, yet he is particularly associated with the music of Haydn and Handel, and in twentieth-century music has an affinity for the neo-baroque and neo-classical schools including works by Stravinsky, Martinu and the Entartete composers. He is especially interested in Czech music and was awarded the Martinu Medal in 1999. With symphony and chamber orchestras he creates intriguing juxtapositions of the new and the old (Mozart and Schnittke, Webern and Bach, Haydn and Martinu) and has directed many premieres of works by European and American composers. He has also encouraged the AAM to commission contemporary works by composers such as Tavener, Woolrich and Musgrave.

An important contributor to numerous publishers and particularly Baerenreiter, Hogwood’s current editorial projects range from sixteenth century Italian music to the last orchestral work by Stravinsky. Of particular note is the publication of the many alternative versions of the great overtures and symphonies by Mendelssohn, revealing new insight into his working methods; major keyboard collections such as the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book and complete keyboard works of Purcell; plus special arrangements by contemporaries of composers such as Mozart and Haydn. He has just completed a new edition of Elgar’s Enigma variations. In addition, he chairs the board of the CPE Bach Complete Works Edition and is also on the board of the Martinu Complete Edition.

Hogwood has a celebrated catalogue of more than 200 recordings with AAM for Decca, including the first complete Mozart symphonies on period instruments. Many of these acclaimed recordings are now being reissued. The neo-classical is also well represented by a series of recordings on Sony/BMG’s Arte Nova label, featuring composers such as Martinu, Stravinsky, Britten, Copland, Tippett and Honegger. Other recent projects include the symphonies and overtures of Niels Gade (Chandos), the Secret Series for clavichord — Secret Mozart (Sony), Secret Handel and Secret Bach (Metronome) with Secret Beethoven too follow — and Martinu’s complete works for violin and orchestra with Bohuslav Matousek as soloist. Future plans feature Stravinsky, Martinu, Copland, Haydn and Mozart.

Hogwood’s many publications include a survey of patronage through the ages (Music at Court), biographical studies of Haydn, Mozart and Handel (Thames and Hudson), a history of the trio sonata (BBC Publications), and investigations of British music. His new book on Handel’s Water Music and Music for the Royal Fireworks was recently published by Cambridge University Press (CUP). His written work has been translated into six languages.

Hogwood is Honorary Professor of Music at the University of Cambridge; he holds Fellowships at Jesus and Pembroke Colleges, Cambridge; and is Visiting Professor at the Royal Academy of Music.

Visit www.hogwood.org for further information on Christopher Hogwood and his work.

Press highlights from recent projects

Conducting

Dido and Aeneas — La Scala, Milan — July 2006
“Christopher.. offered an interpretation of Dido and Aeneas that was delicate, light as embroidery and diamond-like in its sharpness and clarity of sound.”
L’Opera, Aug 2006

Academy of Ancient Music — Mendelssohn + Weber — Barbican Centre — May 2005
“Hogwood’s performance illuminated Mendelssohn’s flair as an orchestrator. The first movement was darkly sensuous... The second movement was a riot of playful energy, but the finale was the most thrilling of all: an explosion of minor-key intensity that Hogwood kept just the right side of chaos, until the major-key resolution of the final section, crowned by a peal of horn sonority”.
The Guardian, May 2005

Recording

Secret Handel — works for clavichord by Handel, performed by Christopher Hogwood — Metronome — December 2005
“Performing on three distinguished 18th century German clavichords, all magnificently recorded, Hogwood is throughout an eloquent advocate... a disc to return to often.”
BBC Music Magazine — April 2006

Publications

Handel’s Water Music and Music for the Royal Fireworks (CUP — 2005)
“... it is almost everything one could wish for in a monograph: succinct, well written, effortlessly au fait with the work of current musicologists, massively informative, able to convey affection for the man and his music, generously illustrated with well selected examples, sprinkled with good aperçus, authoritative on the political and other contexts, well produced and above all musical in focus. Hogwood treats music as music, a musician as a musician, and what a relief that is!”...
The Musical Times — Summer 2006