Sir Mark Elder

Few conductors in modern times have matched Elder’s combination of passionate intensity with measured calm. Elder has described himself as quite a physical conductor, yet his manner on the podium is dignified, and when conducting a huge, emotional, potentially sprawling work like Mahler’s Third Symphony he is able to balance strong feeling and rich colour with a superb sense of how the music evolves to reach its final destination. Born in Hexham, Northumberland, in 1947, he studied music at Cambridge University and conducted with Edward Downes. His appointment as music director at the English National Opera in 1979 was a game-changer. Elder quickly raised the calibre and the reputation of the company, commanding an impressively wide repertory. His next major appointment was with the Hallé Orchestra in Manchester, where his transformative effect was noted almost immediately. (The orchestra’s position was precarious at the time.) Elder extended the orchestra’s range, introducing new and difficult works like Michael Tippett’s The Mask of Time (1982) alongside better-known classics. His manner with audiences too has proved very popular: traditional formal concert wear is abandoned, and Elder often addresses the audience directly when the work in question is unfamiliar. His recordings with the Hallé, on the orchestra’s own label, have regularly scored highly with critics.