André de Ridder’s firm grounding in, and devotion to, the classical/romantic repertoire, coupled with his passion for a far-reaching range of the arts, have contributed to his position as one of the most fascinating conductors emerging today. He is one of only a few artists of the new generation with a deep knowledge of a diverse range of repertoire and the confidence to present such varied works in an equal setting.

De Ridder has made his debuts with the Philharmonia Orchestra, London Sinfonietta, BBC Scottish, BBC Philharmonic, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Scottish Chamber and Ulster Orchestras and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, leading to many re-invitations. In Germany, he has worked with the NDR Radiophilharmonie Hannover, the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, Kammerakademie Potsdam, SWR Stuttgart, Ensemble Oriol and at the Komische Oper.

A former Assistant Conductor at the Hallé Orchestra (2004-2006), during which Mark Elder’s mentorship had a great impact, de Ridder regularly returns to guest conduct by popular demand. 2007/08 began with his return to the BBC Proms (having made his debut there in 2006 with the Britten Sinfonia); he conducted the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra in a performance of HK Gruber’s ‘Aerial’ with soloist Håkan Hardenberger. He continues a strong association with Sinfonia ViVA, working with young soloists such as Danjulo Ishizaka and Lauma Skride. He also is undertaking the premiere performances of ‘Monkey: Journey to the West’, a piece of music theatre written by British singer-songwriter Damon Albarn. The first performances took place at the 2007 inaugural Manchester International Festival, the production most recently relocating to the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, and further performances are planned for Berlin’s Staatsoper. Debut appearances this season include BBC Symphony Orchestra, Malmö Symfoni Orkester and Mozarteum Salzburg.

De Ridder has earned a substantial reputation as an advocate of new music within Europe, particularly in the UK and his native Germany. Amongst many composers with whom he has collaborated, de Ridder has formed particularly close connections with Saariaho, Hallgrimsson, Judith Weir and Henze. To that effect, the 2006/07 began with de Ridder collaborating further with Hans Werner Henze, having been invited by the composer to lead a retrospective of his works in a performance with the Junge Deutsche Philharmonie. De Ridder returns to the Philharmonia Orchestra’s ‘Music of Today’ series, and one of his appearances with BBC Symphony Orchestra this season will be as part of their focus on Judith Weir, at London’s Barbican Centre.

His ability with young orchestras has made a considerable impact, and the BBC’s Weir week focus will also involve him in a performance with the orchestra of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. He returns to work with the orchestras of the Royal Northern College of Music, the Orchestra of the Malmö Academy in Sweden and conducts the Ulster Youth Orchestra for the first time. He will further be involved with the BBC Symphony Orchestra’s education programme, in a concert designed to involve a London-based amateur group with the orchestra.

Opera is an important facet of André de Ridder’s activities. His debut at English National Opera was conducting the world premiere run of Gerald Barry’s opera The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant, a work he will revive at Theater Basel this season. His ENO debut resulted in an immediate reinvitation to conduct The Marriage of Figaro in January 2007. At the Salzburg Festival 2003, he worked on the world premiere production of Hans Werner Henze's Opera L'Upupa oder Der Triumph der Sohnesliebe, and at the Teatro Real in Madrid in December 2004, he was Musical Director for a hugely acclaimed production of Henze’s El Cimarrón. Of his conducting Mark-Anthony Turnage's Greek, Opera magazine wrote 'André de Ridder seemed to catch even more of the contemporary idiom of the score, its savage irony and humour in addition to its tragic-comic climaxes. Greek emerged as a stunning opera.'

Brought up and educated in Berlin, André de Ridder subsequently studied at the Music Academies of Vienna and London where he studied with Leopold Hager and Sir Colin Davis. As a post-graduate student, he was appointed as Young Conductor in Association with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra.


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