Born in Sussex, England, Mark Wigglesworth studied music at Manchester University and conducting at the Royal Academy of Music in London.
Whilst still a student, he formed The Premiere Ensemble, an orchestra committed to performing a new piece in every programme. A few weeks after leaving the Academy, he won the Kondrashin International Conducting Competition in The Netherlands, and since then has worked with many of the leading orchestras and opera companies of the world.
In 1992 he became Associate Conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra and further appointments included Principal Guest Conductor of the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra and Music Director of the BBC National Orchestra of Wales. Highlights of his time with the BBCNOW included several visits to the BBC Proms, a performance of Mahler's Tenth Symphony at the prestigious Amsterdam Mahler Festival in 1995, and a six part series for BBC Television entitled 'Everything To Play For.'
In addition to concerts with most of the UK's orchestras, Mark Wigglesworth has regularly guest conducted many of Europe's finest ensembles, including the Berlin Philharmonic, Amsterdam Concertgebouw, La Scala Filarmonica, Milan, Gothenburg Symphony, Oslo Philharmonic, Finnish Radio Symphony, Salzburg Mozarteum Orchestra, and the Budapest Festival Orchestra. In 2000 he led the Sydney Symphony at the closing concert of the Olympic Arts Festival and has worked many times with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. He has been equally busy in North America having been invited to the Cleveland Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, Chicago Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Orchestre Symphonique de Montreal, and the Boston Symphony. He frequently visits the Minnesota Orchestra and Detroit Symphony and has an on-going relationship with the New World Symphony.
It is with this Miami based professional training orchestra that Mark continues his commitment to making music with young people. Having conducted the Dutch National Youth Orchestra on several occasions since 1990 he has collaborated with many of Holland's finest musicians from the earliest stages of their careers. Passionate about passing on his experiences to a younger generation, he has also performed with the European Union Youth Orchestra, the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, and the Aspen Music Festival Orchestra, as well as giving Conducting Masterclasses in London, Stockholm and Amsterdam.
Alongside his symphonic conducting, Mark Wigglesworth has always been equally at home in the opera house. This began with a period as Music Director of Opera Factory, London, and has since involved repeated visits to Glyndebourne (Peter Grimes, La Boheme, Le Nozze di Figaro), Welsh National Opera (Elektra, The Rake's Progress, Tristan und Isolde), and English National Opera (Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, Cosi fan Tutte, Falstaff). He has conducted at the Netherlands Opera with Peter Grimes; La Monnaie in Brussels with Mitridate, Wozzeck, and Pelleas et Melisande; The Metropolitan Opera, New York with Le Nozze di Figaro; and The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden with Die Meistersinger von Nuremberg.
In the studio, Mark's recordings have centred around a project with BIS Records to record all the symphonies of Shostakovich. Now nearing its completion, this cycle has received critical acclaim throughout the world. The live performances of Mahler's Sixth and Tenth Symphonies that he gave with the Melbourne Symphony have also been issued on the MSO Live label.
September 2009 / 536 words. Not to be altered without permission. Please destroy all previous biographical material.
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CONCERT REVIEWS
New Zealand Symphony Orchestra on tour in New Zealand
Debussy, Rachmaninov, Shostakovich and Britten, Haydn, Brahms
“Mark Wigglesworth declared his control and confidence in his players from the start by taking the Debussy at a very modest pace, making the most of the teasing hesitations with which the piece abounds. …
Pianist [Alexander Melnikov] and conductor were at one in shaping a gripping performance [of Rachmaninov’s Piano concerto no. 2] without a hint of the cloying sentimentality that can be just under the surface. …
Power of a different kind made for a superb account of the Shostakovich.
That Wigglesworth knows the work intimately showed not only in his brilliant performance, but also in his brilliantly written programme note. The 10th Symphony is so personal to the composer that insights of such depth as we heard in this performance brought a new dimension into my experience of it.
Again, Wigglesworth chose a tempo for the first movement that left room for its relentless, large-scale build-up, and the orchestra players responded. The unrestrained anger that is the second movement hammered home its message, but was devoid of self-indulgence. There was no mistaking the two melodic fragments that are the building blocks of the third movement. Again, the conductor’s for the work as a whole ensured that they were sensitively and sensibly placed.
This and the finale confirmed this concert as one of the most powerful I have heard form the NZ Symphony Orchestra.”
The Press, July 2009
“Precision is not the full deal in the Shostakovich Tenth Symphony, though it surely helps. No, the success of this performance was due to the vision and execution of conductor Mark Wigglesworth.
He enjoys a huge reputation in Shostakovich's music. He galvanised his players to produce playing that moved from the sensitive to the sensational; from the superb playing of individual players, to a riveting intensity in climaxes.
Never have I heard the "Stalin" scherzo played with such trenchant bite, nor have I heard such superb balances between all sections, including the percussion, as here.
The concert opened superbly, with Debussy's Prelude a l'apres-midi d'un faune.
From the off, with the marvellous poise of Bridget Douglas' flute, we heard playing of wonderful, languorous, refinement, culminating in some sumptuously glowing playing from the strings.”
The Dominion Post, August 2009
“If there was humour in Shostakovich's 10th Symphony on Saturday then it had a manic tinge to it; any wayward circus spirits in its fiery second movement were distributing sawdust liberally laced with acid. Wigglesworth's insightful programme note suggested he had thought long and hard about this work, and few conductors could equal his first movement in its balance of the stoic sorrow and repressed anger.”
New Zealand Herald, July 2009
“From the exquisitely manicured opening flute solo, through the ebb and flow of various themes to shimmering string tremolos at the cora, Wigglesworth’s interpretation [of Debussy’s Prelude l’apres-midi d’un faune] was one of tranquil lyricism and unconditional beauty”
Otago Daily Times, July 2009
“Conductor Mark Wigglesworth is a master interpreter. It was clear from the start of Shostakovich’s Symphony No 10. The NZSO showed cohesion, the winds and brass were tight, and the percussion was perfectly integrated into the mix. The strings had depth and bite from the merest pianissimos to the raw climaxes. This is a bitter symphony and the ferocious attack of the strings in the “Stalin” scherzo was riveting. Wigglesworth is an acknowledged Shostakovich expert, and conducting without a score, he gave us the best performance of a Shostakovich symphony we are ever likely to hear.
The concert had opened with a languid performance of Debussy’s Prelude a l’apres-midi d’un faune. Bridget Douglas’ gorgeous flute playing set the scene, with shimmering string textures to follow. The atmosphere of the piece was perfectly caught with the NZSO’s usual characterful winds.”
Capital Times, August 2009
San Francisco Symphony Orchestra / Wagner & Chopin
“Thursday night's concert by the San Francisco Symphony in Davies Symphony Hall featured some of the most focused, eloquent and ravishingly beautiful music-making local audiences have heard this year.
Also, Lang Lang played the piano.
No, that's merely a mean joke. In truth, Lang's performance of Chopin's First Piano Concerto, part of his weeklong residency under the Symphony's auspices, was a perfectly delightful affair, full of wit, tenderness and simplicity. On any normal night at the Symphony, this would have been the high point of the evening.
But Thursday wasn't a normal night. Guest conductor Mark Wigglesworth made sure of that.
During the first half of the program, before Lang took the stage, Wigglesworth led the orchestra through orchestral excerpts from Wagner's "Tannhäuser" and "Die Meistersinger." The results were heart-stopping, transfixing, almost beyond praise; they created the sort of quasi-religious enchantment that Wagner envisioned at his most grandiose, but that performances of his music provide all too rarely.
There was no way to have seen this coming, really. Wigglesworth, a young Englishman with various minor posts around Europe, has led the Symphony a few times before - often in the music of Shostakovich - and generally acquitted himself well. But nothing in his past appearances gave any hint of the kind of sorcery he worked in these Wagner selections.
The magic was twofold. One aspect was the remarkable interpretive assurance that Wigglesworth brought to the music, particularly the way he paced Wagner's musical paragraphs with a combination of expansiveness and rhythmic momentum. The other was the almost unparalleled quality of playing he got from the orchestra.
That much was obvious in the opening measures of the "Tannhäuser" Overture. I yield to no one in my regard for the horn and woodwind players of the San Francisco Symphony, but I don't know when I've heard them muster such a rich, warm and gorgeously blended sound as they did in those few moments.
And the magic just kept going, as the chorale-like main theme spread to the cellos and then the other strings. It was like a dark, swelling tide, pulling the listener ever deeper into Wagner's stately, voluptuous world.
For true voluptuousness, though, there was the "Venusberg" music from the same opera, a dizzying whirl of melody and voracious rhythms executed with tremendous precision and a sense of hungry eagerness. If Wigglesworth isn't actually a devotee of subterranean orgies, he certainly knows how to impersonate one.
The "Meistersinger" excerpts were no less arresting, marked by full-toned pomp in the processional music and vivid physicality in the "Dance of the Apprentices." And once again, the sheer sound of the orchestra - which after all, almost never plays Wagner - was a marvel to witness.
After intermission, it was Lang Lang's turn, and he took to his assignment with winning grace. Compared with Tuesday's heavy-handed solo recital, this was the sort of performance that could vindicate the most extravagant claims on the young pianist's behalf.
Here was technical prowess put to alluring use, as Lang raced through the splashier passagework of the opening movement and dispatched the even more vivacious rondo with casual charm. Nothing was overstated or badgered this time around, and even a single note - the high G-sharp that rang out sweetly at the end of the slow movement - could be invested with eloquence and verve.
In the end, though, this was Wigglesworth's night. As the "Meistersinger" Prelude came to an end, I felt a sudden pang of disappointment that the entire opera was not coming next. Let's hope that David Gockley, or one of his trusted minions, was listening.”
San Francisco Chronicle, December 2008
OPERA REVIEWS
Opera Australia / Britten Peter Grimes
“Conductor Mark Wigglesworth and the orchestra's swift tempos, razor-sharp attack and incisive rhythmic bite propel the music forward with urgent momentum and irresistible energy. By contrast, their piquant sonorities and sensitive phrasing achieve aching poignancy in passages of contemplative lyricism.”
The Australian, October 2009
“Wigglesworth led the company through an outstanding performance of Britten's score, varying tempos and moods appropriately to reflect the beauty and power of nature as well as the dramatic tensions, gentle tenderness and rollicking humour of human relationships.
[…] this is a superb production, both musically and dramatically, and the first-night audience enthusiastically applauded both the performers and the production team.”
Classical Source, October 2009
“Had this new production opened at Covent Garden, critics would be hailing it as a triumph of British Culture […] Yet apart from the excellent English conductor Mark Wigglesworth, this very English opera was produced using almost exclusively Australian talent. […]
The result of so much perfection is that the evening is satisfying in every way. Wearing a blindfold one could simply enjoy the wonderful orchestra and orchestration […]
It is difficult to think of anything to complain about in this production, except the fact that only six performances will be given in Sydney."
Timeout Sydney, October 2009
La Monnaie / Berg Wozzeck
“The continuity of the action was also due to the musical preparation of Mark Wigglesworth, underlining the chamber music elements of the score. Every accent, every instrumental colour, every stylistic reference corresponded to a moment in the drama, creating an astonishing parallelism between the orchestra pit and the stage. After too many overexposed interpretations of the piece, Alban Berg’s opera needed this liberating return to the score itself. The opera’s profound dramatic continuity was revealed once again.”
Le Soir, February 2008
“Conductor Mark Wigglesworth drove the orchestra to the highest level of expression, such that one almost felt harassed. The music didn’t leave a single element of the eccentricity and ridiculousness of the characters untouched.”
Dradio.de, Febraury 2008
“Mark Wigglesworth gave an almost post-romantic interpretation of the score, alternating lyricism and paroxysm, with a rich variety of colour and astonishing crescendi, at the head of a completely unleashed orchestra.”
Luxemburger Wort, March 2008
“This work (…) requires an intuitive feel for the dramatic rhythm with which Berg underpins the score and a powerful weighing up of its building blocks. Wigglesworth achieves both without ever drawing attention to the fact – which is, of course, exactly what Berg wanted.”
De Morgen, February 2008
"Simplicity is the essence of [director David] Freeman's approach, allowing Berg's emotionally scarifying score to carry the real dramatic power, which, aided by superb playing from the Monnaie orchestra, Wigglesworth realises unflinchingly."
The Guardian, March 2008
La Monnaie / Mozart Mitridate, re di Ponto
“His deep understanding of singing, his command of breathing and his subtle dynamic changes worked miracles. British conductor Mark Wigglesworth conducts with a strong sense of the dramatic.”
Opera Magazine, December 2007
“This Belgian ‘Mitridate’ does everything right.… An absorbing, bright and amusing production … And Mark Wigglesworth conducted the opera orchestra in a lively and gripping manner yet when needed, like here, with light veiled transparency.”
Deutschlandfunk, October 2007
“Excitingly produced and superbly sung, meant the performance was a huge success. Wigglesworth gave the Mozart score beautiful sounding contours. Above all the pianissimi were of unbelievable shading.”
BRF Aktuell & Klassikzeit, October 2007
“The conducting of the Briton Mark Wigglesworth …really enabled the early work of Mozart to blossom. The style of the conductor has character, is elegant, dynamic and clever – everything that is missing from the stage.”
Das Opernglas, October 2007
“His melodic imagination and gift to musically depict fragile characters is already all too obvious. Mark Wigglesworth intensifies this with tight and now and again wild tempi and dynamic extremes.”
Die Welt, October 2007
“Conductor Mark Wigglesworth led a highly spirited performance, with a phenomenal, immensely gifted international cast. Counter-tenor Bejun Mehta (Farnace) and soprano Myrto Papatanasiu (Sifare) sang brilliantly, presenting the two sons of the king as hightly vivid characters…”
Opera Canada, October 2007
"The musical and vocal performance under the baton of Mark Wigglesworth is outstanding, full of much variation and searching contrast."
NCR Handelsblad, October 2007
"In the pit Mark Wigglesworth proves himself, beyond doubt, a born Mozart conductor. He handles a broom as easily as an artist's brush, changing with ease from angry drama to immeasurable tenderness."
De Telegraaf, October 2007
"The main item of interest in Mitridate, is the unbelievable musical element of the production. In the pit one finds a wonderful orchestra with fabulous soloists...The conductor, Mark Wigglesworth, always chose the perfect tempo to move and maintain the motion of the story."
Knack, October 2007
La Monnaie / Schoenberg Gurrelieder
“A sumptuous performance of Schoenberg’s all too rarely heard Gurrelieder, triumphantly conducted by Mark Wigglesworth with an astonishing mixture of passion and power; fluidity and intensity. […] Mark Wigglesworth set the musicians and the house choirs alight.”
Le Soir, September 2007
“But the lion’s share of the credit for this exceptional evening goes to Wigglesworth, who conducted with assurance and elegance, displaying a perfect mastery of the score and a clear, fluid beat.”
The Bulletin, September 2007
“It was a superb performance by the Orchestre de la Monnaie, its choir (with that of Netherlands Opera) and Mark Wigglesworth: the future Musical Director of La Monnaie showed great qualities of mastery and expression.”
La Libre Belgique, September 2007
“As for the conductor, he passed his trial by fire with flying colours. This extraordinary evening met with ecstatic applause from the audience.”
Luxemburger Wort, September 2007
"Mark Wigglesworth...revelealed this intimate tenderness with a true master's hand. It was brilliant how this conductor...was able to maintain control; never allowing himself to be teased away to let the balance slip from his hands, but patiently allowing the explosion of sound to envelop him."
Trouw, September 2007
"Mark Wigglesworth...kept relaxed control…with beautifully painted scenes of nature receiving as mnuch space and beauty as the enormous explosions of sound."
De Telegraaf, September 2007
RECORDING REVIEWS
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra / Mahler Symphony No. 6 (ABC Classics)
"The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra rises to the challenge of Mahler's Symphony No. 6 in this live recording on two CDs. Led by British conductor Mark Wigglesworth, the MSO gives the first movement a measured performance that highlights the lush sounds of the first violins and the skilled woodwinds in the soft chorale-like passages. Sometimes nicknamed the Tragic Symphony, the work is on a large scale and contains a plethora of melodies, lyrical and folk. The third movement, Andante, is in a pastoral mood and features some beautiful oboe playing and horn calls, with the violins producing luscious sounds. The mammoth finale (it occupies the second disc) recalls thematic material from before. One critic has said the movement embodies the typical Mahlerian mood of happiness on the brink of catastrophe; Mahler said it describes a hero "on whom fall three blows of fate, the last of which fells him". The Melbourne players give it an intense reading while respecting its complexity."
The Weekend Australian, January 2008
“I have long thought Mark Wigglesworth to be a conductor of ever-growing stature, and, though still a very young man, he has built a worldwide reputation since winning the Kondrashin Competition in 1989. He seems able to turn his hand to most composers and styles [ …] So, as you can imagine, I came to this disk with open ears and a lot of expectations. Let me say right away that I was not disappointed. […]
The first movement is marked Allegro energico, ma non troppo, Heftig, aber markig (fast and energetic, but not too much – heavy, but pithy). Wigglesworth has, I think, taken his time to work out exactly what Mahler means by this and in consequence, he chooses a very deliberate tempo for the movement […] However, the music doesn’t appear to be played slowly. In its own way it is energetic and fast, in addition to which Wigglesworth employs a certain necessary heaviness and, considering pithy to mean “to the point”, he gets to the point right from the start. Wigglesworth makes his tempo really work, and as a consequence there is more cohesion between the fast, argumentative, music and the slower middle section. His interpretation really comes into its own with the coda, which starts very slowly and purposefully, with the most menacing contrabassoon, gong and trombones, before taking off in the rush to the conclusion. But there is no lack of poetry – the Alma theme is well shaped and is given more than sufficient breathing space to make its full effect. Wigglesworth also manages to avoid any feeling of militarism, which can so often take over because of the trenchant march rhythms which suffuse this music.
Wigglesworth takes a very deliberate approach to [the second movement] with a forthright and purposeful forward motion – but this is not to say that he doesn’t release the tension when the music demands it. This is very well done. And so is the Andante, which contains some lovely playing and superb phrasing. The long lines are truly sung and he makes the climax grow naturally from what has gone before. Wonderful music making.
It’s thrilling stuff and [in the finale] Wigglesworth and the orchestra throw all caution to the wind and let go in wild abandon. […]The coda is drawn in long, tortured, lines, the brass lament poignant in its very simplicity and the final bars, when they come, are devastating in their intensity. Wigglesworth, rather bravely, almost throws away the final pizzicato A and there’s a full, pregnant, 17 seconds of silence before the audience applauds – and I am glad that this was put on the recording for it helps us to unwind from the experience we have just had. […]
Mark Wigglesworth … is a great conductor. The power, insight and intelligence he shows in shaping this performance, and bringing it to fruition, proves it. […] this is, without doubt, another Recording of the Month."
Music Web International, March 2008
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