Nicholas Braithwaite

Nicholas Braithwaite’s career has been unusually wide-ranging, both musically and geographically. He has held positions as Music Director or Principal Conductor from Norway to New Zealand and many places in between, including the Tasmanian and Adelaide Symphony Orchestras. His repertoire has centred around German and Russian music and he is regarded as an outstanding Wagner conductor, having conducted all of that composer’s works from Rienzi onwards, including 7 Ring Cycles.

Concurrently with his Australian activities he was Principal Conductor of the Manchester Camerata. Other orchestral appointments have included Permanent Guest Conductor of the Norwegian Radio Orchestra, and Associate Conductor to Constantin Silvestri with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. A frequent guest conductor for all the major orchestras in the UK, he also toured Japan and Korea with the London Philharmonic Orchestra as Associate Conductor to Sir Georg Solti.

He has appeared with, among others, the Orchestre National de Belgique, Orchestre National de France, the Oslo Philharmonic, Bergen Philharmonic, Odense Symphony, Aarhus Symphony, Aalborg Symphony, New Zealand Symphony, Auckland Philharmonia, Melbourne Symphony, Sydney Symphony, Queensland Orchestra, West Australian Symphony, Danish National Radio Symphony and the Collegium Musicum Copenhagen.

Nicholas Braithwaite has conducted more than 80 operas, holding appointments as Associate Principal Conductor of Sadler’s Wells/English National Opera, Music Director of Glyndebourne Touring Opera, and Musiksjef of Gothenberg’s Stora Teater.  As guest he has also conducted opera at Covent Garden, Hamburg, Norwegian Opera, Scottish and Welsh National Operas, and many companies in Australasia.

With Lyrita Recorded Edition he has released more than 30 CDs of music by English composers, conducting the London Philharmonic, London Symphony, Royal Philharmonic, and Philharmonia Orchestras.

His recording of Wordsworth’s Symphonies No. 2 & 3 with the London Philharmonic Orchestra won a 1991 Record of the Year Award from Gramophone Magazine, and his recording of Flute Concertos with Alexa Still and the New Zealand Chamber Orchestra for Koch was nominated for a 1992 Grammy award in the USA.

Amongst his recordings with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra are Shostakovich’s Symphonies 6, 7, 8, and 9, Elgar’s Cello Concerto with Li Wei Qin and Sea Songs with Elisabeth Campbell, Organ Concertos with Simon Preston.