Julian Perkins

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Julian Perkins in rehearsal, 2012

Julian Perkins is a British conductor and keyboard player (harpsichord, fortepiano and clavichord).[1] Shortlisted for the Gramophone Award in 2021, he is Artistic Director of the Portland Baroque Orchestra in the USA. He lives in London, England and is also Founder Director of the early music ensemble Sounds Baroque and Artistic Director of Cambridge Handel Opera Company.[2]

As a conductor, Julian Perkins has been praised for his 'heartening dramatic energy' and 'dynamic direction',[3][4] while his harpsichord playing has been described as 'superbly creative' and 'wonderfully adept and stylish'.[5][6] He conducted the first professional recording of Eccles's Semele with the Academy of Ancient Music,[7] and the world première recordings of Daniel Purcell's opera-oratorio The Judgment of Paris and Stephen Dodgson's opera Margaret Catchpole.[8][9] His solo discography includes world premières of virtuosic harpsichord suites by James Nares, John Christopher Smith and John Worgan,[10][11][12] clavichord works by Herbert Howells and Stephen Dodgson,[13][14] Johann Sebastian Bach's French Suites and a clavichord programme entitled Handel's Attick.[15] His numerous ensemble recordings include two discs of Italian cantatas, and one of songs by Henry Purcell featuring the soprano Anna Dennis with Sounds Baroque.[16][17] Duo recordings comprise Franz Schubert's violin sonatas of 1816 with Peter Sheppard Skærved, a programme entitled Chit Chat with Terence Charlston featuring contemporary works for two clavichords and, with Emma Abbate, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's complete sonatas for keyboard duet, Carl Maria von Weber's complete works for keyboard duet and a disc of twentieth-century pieces by English composers. [18][19][20][21][22]

Julian Perkins has directed groups ranging from the Academy of Ancient Music to the Orchestra of Welsh National Opera,[23] performed concertos with Florilegium, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Orchestra of The Sixteen and Royal Northern Sinfonia, given numerous chamber performances with ensembles including the Bavarian State Orchestra, Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg and Trevor Pinnock & Friends, and performed with various prizewinners in the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition. He works annually with the Southbank Sinfonia, has conducted staged opera productions for organisations including Bampton Classical Opera, the Buxton Festival,[24] Dutch National Opera Academy, Grimeborn Festival,[25] Guildhall School of Music & Drama,[26] New Chamber Opera and New Kent Opera, and devised an opera pasticcio about Casanova with librettist Stephen Pettitt that he directed for the Baroque Unwrapped series at London's Kings Place in May 2016.[27] He often appears live on BBC Radio 3, has featured several times on The Early Music Show and contributed to the radio station's pioneering podcast about George Frideric Handel's Orlando with Welsh National Opera.[28][29] Since 2014, Julian Perkins has been the Artistic Director of Coram's Handel Birthday Concert, that raises money for vulnerable children. He has given solo recitals in international festivals at St Albans, Buxton, Canterbury, Deal, King's Lynn, Lammermuir, Northern Aldborough, Oundle, Petworth, Roman River, Ryedale, Swaledale, Two Moors and Tel Aviv. Active as a teacher, he is a harpsichord tutor at the Royal Northern College of Music.[30] He has also written articles for publications such as BBC Music Magazine,[31] Early Music and Early Music Today, and contributed to The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Historical Performance in Music.

References[edit]

  1. ^ Andy Campbell. "The National Centre for Early Music – Early Music Directory". NCEM. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
  2. ^ "Cambridge Handel Opera Company (CHOC) – Homepage". Cambridgehandel.org.uk.
  3. ^ Lindsay Kemp (6 June 2014). "D PURCELL The Judgment of Paris". Gramophone. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
  4. ^ Anna Picard (31 August 2013). "Edinburgh Festival 2013 classical review: Dido and Aeneas/Bluebeard's Castle: Lament for broken-hearted heroines". The Independent. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
  5. ^ Cooke, Rachel (26 September 2013). "Breeches, brocade and bonbons". New Statesman. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
  6. ^ "HOME". The Critics' Circle.
  7. ^ "John Eccles: Semele (C.1707)".
  8. ^ "Daniel Purcell: The Judgment of Paris | RES10128". Resonusclassics.com. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
  9. ^ "A woman. A crime. A true story. Margaret Catchpole: Two Worlds Apart. A chamber opera by Stephen Dodgson (1924–2013)".
  10. ^ Title: Eight Harpsichord Setts (14 November 2007). "Eight Harpsichord Setts". Avie Records. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
  11. ^ "Smith & Handel: Works for Harpsichord – Julian Perkins Harpsichord Early Music Chaconne". Chandos.net. 10 May 2015. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
  12. ^ "John Worgan: Complete Harpsichord Music".
  13. ^ "Herbert Howells Music for Clavichord". Ascrecords.com.
  14. ^ "DODGSON Diaalogues cameo2088 [WH]: Classical CD Reviews – November 09 MusicWeb-International". Musicweb-international.com. 13 August 2008. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
  15. ^ "J.S. Bach: French Suites, BWV 812–817 | RES10163". Resonus Classics. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
  16. ^ "Julian Perkins". Avie Records. 18 March 2013. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
  17. ^ "Sweeter than Roses: Songs by Henry Purcell | Anna Dennis (soprano), Sounds Baroque & Julian Perkins (director & keyboards) | Resonus Classics | RES10235". Resonusclassics.com.
  18. ^ "Schubert: 3 Violin Sonatas". Divineartrecords.com. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
  19. ^ "W.A. Mozart: Piano Duets, Volume 1 | Julian Perkins & Emma Abbate | RES10172". Resonus Classics. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
  20. ^ "W.A. Mozart: Piano Duets, Volume 2 | Julian Perkins & Emma Abbate | Resonus Classics | RES10210". Resonusclassics.com.
  21. ^ "Carl Maria von Weber: Complete Keyboard Duets (DXL 1184) – Deux-Elles Classical Recordings".
  22. ^ "BIS Records – Tournament for Twenty Fingers – piano duets".
  23. ^ "Revew: John Eccles' Semele". 28 November 2019. Archived from the original on 4 December 2019.
  24. ^ "Event details: Pimpinone". Artsderbyshire.org.uk. 17 July 2011. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
  25. ^ "Handel Furioso". Arcola Theatre. 27 August 2013. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
  26. ^ "Guildhall School Triumphs in Arne and Stradella Operas – Seen and Heard International".
  27. ^ oscar (5 May 2016). "Rich ingredients for seduction". Camden Review. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
  28. ^ "BBC Radio 3 – The Early Music Show, Music from the Royal Collection". BBC.
  29. ^ "Opera on 3 – Handel's Orlando". BBC. 7 November 2015. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
  30. ^ "Julian Perkins – Royal Northern College of Music". Rncm.ac.uk. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
  31. ^ "What is a... Clavichord?". BBC Music Magazine. 16 June 2016. Retrieved 1 December 2016.

External links[edit]

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