Full
Biography
'Hazlewood's
conducting was a revelation' The Times
Charles Hazlewood occupies a unique position in British musical life.
The combination of his outstanding musical talent and versatility as
a conductor, and his passion for bringing classical music to the widest
possible audience, has led to a significant profile as a conductor in
the broadcast media, and on the world stage.
Following his studies at Christ’s Hospital and Oxford University,
Hazlewood won first prize at the European Broadcasting Union Conducting
Competition in Lisbon in 1995. June 2003 saw his Carnegie Hall debut
conducting the Orchestra of St. Luke’s. He made his BBC Proms
conducting debut in August 2006, with the BBC Concert Orchestra; simultaneously
presenting the concert live from the stage for TV. He now guest-conducts
many of the world's leading orchestras, this Season making his debut
with the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Gothenburg and Malmo Symphonies
in Sweden, the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and the Philharmonia
in London.
Ever since the formation of his orchestra Excellent Device (previously
Eos) in 1991, Hazlewood has blazed a trail in new ways of approaching
music for which is he is now well known; through talking to his audience
live on stage, collaborating with other art forms (sculpture, film etc),
and playing in unconventional settings. He also has a sister orchestra
– Army of Generals – which comprises the cream of period
instrumentalists in London, who have featured in many of his BBC films.
Army of Generals began a new residency at St George's Bristol in January
2011.
From 2007, Hazlewood was Music Director of the Cape Town based lyric
theatre company Dimpho Di Kopane, DDK, (Sotho for “combined talents”),
which he co-founded. For the company he conducted Carmen and West Side
Story. As composer he conceived the music for Yiimimangaliso (The Mysteries)
and Ibali Loo Tsotsi (The Beggar’s Opera) (see reviews on reviews
page) ; both of which have had hugely successful runs in London and
on tour worldwide – and The Snow Queen, which premiered in New
York in 2004.
Dimpho Di Kopane’s first feature film U-Carmen e-Khayelitsha,
(for which Hazlewood acted as Music Director and Conductor) premiered
in South Africa in spring 2005, prior to international release, and
was awarded the prestigious ‘Golden Bear’ award for Best
Film at the 2005 Berlin Film Festival (http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=JGNmxQJd3AI).
Their subsequent movie, Son of Man featured a score created by Hazlewood
in collaboration with the company.
As part of his passion to reach the widest possible audience for music,
Hazlewood is well known to millions as “the face of classical
music” (The Daily Telegraph) for the BBC, for whom he has authored
and conducted the music in several groundbreaking films: Vivaldi Unmasked
(BBC1), The Genius of Mozart (BBC2/4), Beethoven (BBC2/4), Tchaikovsky
(BBC2/4), and The Birth of British Music (BBC2).
He occupies a central position on BBC Radio 3, with Discovering Music,
where he deconstructs great orchestral music with the BBC orchestras
and his own two orchestras. For several years he also hosted Radio 2's
The Charles Hazlewood Show, exploring his vast and catholic music tastes,
in sessions recorded on his farm in Somerset. The show won Hazlewood
3 Sony Awards.
Hazlewood’s eclecticism defies convention; in the past six years
he has conducted over fifty orchestral world premieres, worked with
the rawest new South African vocal talent, and explored artists at the
cutting edge of the pop music scene in the UK, in projects such as ‘Urban
Classic’: fusing five Grime MC’s with the BBC Concert Orchestra
at the Hackney Empire (http://www.bbc.co.uk/1xtra/events/urbanclassic/features/event.shtml).
He launched the 'Charles Hazlewood All Stars' at Glastonbury Festival
2008, featuring Will Gregory (Goldfrapp), Adrian Utley (Portishead),
saxophonists Jason Yarde & Andy Sheppard, Cian (Super Furry Animals),
Gabriel Prokofiev and Squarepusher (The Charles Hazlewood All Stars
- "A sort of avante-garde super group" - The Idler) He played
the first ever symphony concert on the famous Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury
with the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain.
In August '09 Charles unveiled his latest venture, a new breed of orchestral
festival on his farm in Somerset called Play the Field. It was broadcast
on Radio 2 and attended by 4,000 people. Play the Field, now renamed
Orchestra in a Field, will return in 2012.
Upcoming highlights include the launch of Hazlewood's new Johannesburg
opera company with 'Soweto Messiah', projects with the Philharmonia
and National Youth Orchestra in London, the Malmö Synphony in Sweden
and the Malaysian Philharmonic, and the launch of Britain's first national
disabled orchestra, Paraorchestra.
Charles Hazlewood lives with his family in Somerset.
