About
British conductor Ian Page has established an outstanding reputation as a leading interpreter of the music of Mozart and his contemporaries. He is the founder and artistic director of The Mozartists (formerly Classical Opera), and is equally at home in the opera house, the concert hall and the recording studio. He has so far released seven CDs in a projected complete cycle of Mozart’s operas on Signum Classics, and is the driving force behind The Mozartists’ acclaimed MOZART 250 project, which between 2015 and 2041 is following the chronological trajectory of Mozart’s life, works and influences.
Ian began his musical education as a chorister at Westminster Abbey, and studied English Literature at the University of York before completing his studies in piano and conducting at the Royal Academy of Music in London. At the start of his career he worked on the music staff at Scottish Opera, Glyndebourne, Opera Factory and Drottningholm, and his early mentors included Sir Charles Mackerras and Georg Tintner.
With The Mozartists he has conducted the majority of Mozart’s operas, including the world premières of the ‘original’ version of Mitridate, re di Ponto and a new completion of Zaide. He has also conducted the UK premières of Gluck’s La clemenza di Tito, Telemann’s Orpheus, Jommelli’s Il Vologeso, Hasse’s Piramo e Tisbe and Haydn’s ‘Applausus’ cantata, and the first new staging for 250 years of Johann Christian Bach’s Adriano in Siria. He made his Royal Opera House début conducting his own new performing edition of Thomas Arne’s Artaxerxes, and in 2019 he conducted Handel’s Ariodante, with Ann Hallenberg in the title role, at the Drottningholm Festival in Sweden.
Ian devised and conducted The Mozartists’ recordings of ‘The A-Z of Mozart Opera’ (Sony BMG/Signum Classics) and ‘Blessed Spirit – a Gluck retrospective’ (Wigmore Hall Live) – both selected for Gramophone magazine’s annual Critics’ Choice – and recital discs featuring tenor Allan Clayton (‘Where’er You Walk’) and soprano Sophie Bevan (‘Perfido!’) – both shortlisted for the International Opera Awards. He recently embarked on a new series of ‘Sturm und Drang’ recordings, the first two volumes of which were released on Signum Classics in 2020.
He has attracted widespread praise for his intelligent and imaginative programming, his ability to connect with audiences and lead them on a voyage of discovery, and his commitment to nurturing and championing outstanding young singers and players. He was a coach for the International Opera School at London’s Royal College of Music for several years, and has given masterclasses for the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, The Drottningholm Festival and The Royal Opera’s Jette Parker Young Artists Programme. A passionate spokesman for classical music, opera and the arts, he has broadcast on BBC radio and television and Sky Arts, written several articles for The Guardian and Opera Now, and given lectures for The British Library and Martin Randall Travel.
Ian’s future engagements include débuts at La Seine Musicale in Paris and Bozar in Brussels.
Twitter
@IanPageMozart