Daniel John Harding (born 31 August 1975) is a British conductor.

Biography

Harding was born in

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the Un ...

. He studied trumpet at Chetham's School of Music and was a member of the National Youth Orchestra at age 13. At age 17, Harding assembled a group of musicians to perform ''Pierrot Lunaire'' of

Arnold Schoenberg Arnold Schoenberg or Schönberg (, ; ; 13 September 187413 July 1951) was an Austrian-American composer, music theorist, teacher, writer, and painter. He is widely considered one of the most influential composers of the 20th century. He was as ...

, and sent a tape of the performance to

Simon Rattle Sir Simon Denis Rattle (born 19 January 1955) is a British-German conductor. He rose to international prominence during the 1980s and 1990s, while music director of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (1980–1998). Rattle was principa ...

in Birmingham. After listening to this tape, Rattle hired Harding as his assistant at the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra for a year, from 1993 to 1994. Harding then attended the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

, but after his first year at university,

Claudio Abbado Claudio Abbado (; 26 June 1933 – 20 January 2014) was an Italian conductor who was one of the leading conductors of his generation. He served as music director of the La Scala opera house in Milan, principal conductor of the London Symphony ...

named him his assistant with the

Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra The Berlin Philharmonic (german: Berliner Philharmoniker, links=no, italic=no) is a German orchestra based in Berlin. It is one of the most popular, acclaimed and well-respected orchestras in the world. History The Berlin Philharmonic was fo ...

. Harding first conducted the Berlin Philharmonic at age 21. At the time of his first conducting appearance at

The Proms The BBC Proms or Proms, formally named the Henry Wood Promenade Concerts Presented by the BBC, is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert H ...

in 1996, he was then the youngest-ever conductor to appear there. Harding has stated that he has never had formal conducting lessons. He is a former Seiji Ozawa Fellow in conducting at Tanglewood Music Center. In 1997, Harding was the Music Director of the Ojai Music Festival alongside pianist

Emanuel Ax Emanuel "Manny" Ax (born 8 June 1949) is a Grammy-winning American classical pianist. He is a teacher in the Juilliard School. Early life Ax was born to a Polish-Jewish family in Lviv, Ukraine, (in what was then the Soviet Union) to Joachim and ...

. Harding has been music director of the Trondheim Symphony Orchestra (1997–2000), the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen (1999–2003) and the Mahler Chamber Orchestra (2003–2008). Harding now has the title of conductor laureate with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra. He conducted the 2005 opening night at La Scala, Milan in ''Idomeneo'', as a substitute after the resignation of Riccardo Muti earlier in 2005. In 2004, Harding was appointed principal guest conductor of the

London Symphony Orchestra The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's orchestras, symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's ...

(LSO), as of 2006. One of his new projects with the LSO involved the Sound Adventures program for new compositions. With the LSO, he has conducted a commercial recording of the opera '' Billy Budd'' for EMI Classics. He became the Principal Conductor of the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra in 2007. In September 2009, he extended his contract as the orchestra's principal conductor through 2012. In April 2013, the orchestra further announced the extension of Harding's contract to 2015. With the orchestra, he has recorded commercially for the Sony Classical label. In June 2015, the Orchestre de Paris announced the appointment of Harding as its 9th principal conductor, effective September 2016. Harding concluded his tenure in the Orchestre de Paris post following the close of the 2018-2019 season. In October 2018, the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra announced the extension of Harding's contract as principal conductor through 2023, along with granting him the new title of ''konstnärlig ledare'' (artistic leader). In November 2021, the orchestra announced an additional extension of Harding's contract through 2025. Outside of Europe, in September 2010, Harding took the title of music partner of the New Japan Philharmonic. In April 2012, Harding became artistic director of the Ohga Hall in Karuizawa, Japan. In 2021, Harding conducted the annual Vienna Philharmonic Summer Night Concert for the first time, the first British conductor to lead this concert.

Personal life

Harding has two children, Adele and George, from his past marriage to Béatrice Muthelet, a violist and co-principal violist of the Mahler Chamber Orchestra. The marriage ended in divorce. Harding is a particular fan of the football club

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

. Harding is a licensed airline pilot, and in 2019 had announced his intention in 2020 to take a sabbatical from conducting to be a commercial pilot with Air France, plans delayed in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Harding was appointed

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

(CBE) in the 2021 New Year Honours for services to music.

References

External links

Askonas Holt, artist management
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harding, Daniel 1975 births Deutsche Grammophon artists Living people English conductors (music) British male conductors (music) EMI Classics and Virgin Classics artists 20th-century British conductors (music) People from Oxford People educated at Chetham's School of Music Sony Classical Records artists 21st-century British conductors (music) 20th-century British male musicians 21st-century British male musicians Erato Records artists Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Musicians from Oxfordshire Commercial aviators