Hyperion Records

Born in London in 1971, Thomas Adès studied piano and composition with Paul Berkowitz and Erika Fox at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and read music at King’s College, Cambridge. Between 1993 and 1995 he was Composer in Association with the Hallé Orchestra. Asyla (1997) was commissioned for Sir Simon Rattle and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, who performed it at Symphony Hall in 1998 in Rattle’s last concert as Music Director. Rattle subsequently programmed Asyla in his opening concert as Music Director of the Berlin Philharmonic in 2002.

Adès’s first opera, Powder Her Face, commissioned by Almeida Opera for the 1995 Cheltenham Festival, has been performed worldwide, was televised by Channel Four, and is available on DVD and CD. His second opera, The Tempest, commissioned by the Royal Opera House, was premiered to great critical acclaim in 2004, and revived in 2007. In 2005 his violin concerto, Concentric Paths, written for Anthony Marwood, was premiered at the Berliner Festspiele and performed at the BBC Proms. His second orchestral work for Simon Rattle, Tevot (2007), was commissioned by the Berlin Philharmonic and Carnegie Hall. Other recent works include a ‘Piano concerto with moving image’ entitled In Seven Days—a collaboration with the video artist Tal Rosner commissioned by the Los Angeles Philharmonic and London’s Southbank Centre and premiered at the Royal Festival Hall in 2008. His many conducting engagements include an appearance at the 2008 BBC Proms with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, and productions of The Rake’s Progress at the Royal Opera House in London and the Zurich Opera. He regularly conducts many of the world’s finest orchestras including the Boston Symphony and Royal Concertebouw.

Adès’s music has attracted numerous awards, including the prestigious Grawemeyer Award (in 2000, for Asyla), of which he is the youngest ever recipient. From 1999 to 2008 he was Artistic Director of the Aldeburgh Festival.