Photo: Eric Richmond
London Winds
Philippa Davies, flute
Gareth Hulse, oboe
Michael Collins, clarinet
Richard Watkins, horn
Robin O'Neill, bassoon
"Competition in this repertoire is pretty formidable...but the London Winds are second to none in terms of technical accomplishment, expressive commitment and warmth of timbre."
BBC Music Magazine
A stunning combination of virtuoso players who also enjoy active solo careers, London Winds' performances are renowned for their technical brilliance, interpretative vision and joie de vivre. Founded in 1988 by British clarinettist Michael Collins, the group has rapidly become one of the world's most prominent chamber ensembles.
The group is flexible in its make-up, augmenting its five original principal members with top international pianists and chamber musicians for certain repertoire. In particular, London Winds have enjoyed close associations with pianists Stephen Kovacevich, Howard Shelley, Pascal Rogé, Barry Douglas and Boris Berezovsky.
London Winds gave its highly successful début concert at the Wigmore Hall, London and continues to perform there regularly; in 2010/11 they will premiere a new work by Thea Musgrave with the Endellion String Quartet at the hall. Elsewhere in London, recent performances include the South Bank Centre and at the Barbican Centre, as part of the BBC’s Janacek Festival. Regular guests at all the major British festivals, London Winds has performed at the BBC Proms, City of London, Edinburgh, Huddersfield, Bath, Aldeburgh, Edinburgh and Cheltenham festivals. UK appearances have also included performances at Bridgewater Hall, Manchester, the Aldeburgh Festival, the Wigmore Hall and at the Bath International Festival, in addition to regular BBC broadcasts.
Engagements further afield include appearances at the Radio France Ligeti Festival in Paris and at the Rencontres Musicales d’Evian, at the Delft Festival, an Italian tour with Andreas Haefliger, at the Schubertiade Festival in Schwarzenberg with the Belcea Quartet and concerts at the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam. In the United States they have performed as the Featured Artists of the Newport Music Festival in Rhode Island, at the Bermuda Festival and on tours of Canada, Mexico and the Far East.
London Winds is renowned for its excellent interpretation of new music. World premieres include a work for thirteen winds by John McCabe, commissioned to be programmed alongside the Mozart Gran Partita, also for 13 Winds. A new commission by Robin Holloway for wind octet, was premiered at the Cheltenham International Festival.
London Winds has made several recordings including György Ligeti's complete wind music for Sony Classical as part of their Ligeti Edition, which won the Preis Der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik and was nominated for a 1999 Grammy. The ensemble has also recorded the complete set of Richard Strauss Wind Symphonies for Hyperion, and Beethoven's Quintet for Piano & Winds and Spohr's Septet for Decca, with Pascal Rogé and Chantal Juillet. The London Winds' latest release is an ONYX recording of Mozart's Serenade No.10 ('Gran Partita') and Mozart's Serenade in C minor.
Promoters please note: if you wish to include this biography in a concert programme etc, please contact Hazard Chase to ensure that you receive the most up to date version.
Email: Emily Eason
