A
Purcell scholar of renown and an expert conductor of early music,
Robert King has achieved significant stature through live and recorded performances with his ensemble, the
King's Consort. A fruitful association with Hyperion Records resulted in a lengthy discography of early English, German, and Italian music, many titles of which have won international awards.
King was born in Wombourne, England, on June 27, 1960. After serving as a chorister and soloist with the
St. John's College Choir, Cambridge,
King returned to Cambridge University for his music degree. When only 20, he formed the period-instrument orchestra the
King's Consort; by 1983, he had made his London debut.
King also founded a companion choir, the Choir of King's Consort. Success in works of the Elizabethan through Baroque periods led to invitations from larger orchestras, and in 1991,
King made his debut at the Proms. Well-received, he has appeared on five other occasions. Touring came to occupy a considerable portion of
King's time with trips taking him to most parts of Europe, Asia, and the Americas. Guest appearances with major orchestras have presented
King in the Classical period repertory, especially in works by
Mozart and
Haydn. In the United States, he has conducted the
National Symphony Orchestra, the
Minnesota Orchestra, and the symphony orchestras of
Atlanta,
Detroit,
Houston,
Seattle, and
Oregon. He has also served as the artistic director of the Nordic Baroque Music Festival in Sweden and Wigmore Hall's Purcell Tercentenary Festival.
King has also directed opera performances, among them
Handel's Ezio at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysée and Ottone in London, Osaka, and Tokyo;
Purcell's The Indian Queen at the Schwetzinger Festspiele and The Fairy Queen in Britain and Spain. As a choral conductor,
King has directed the
New College Choir, Oxford, the
Netherlands Chamber Choir, the
Tölzer Knabenchor, the Swiss Radio Choir, and Orféon Donostiarra.
King and his
Consort enjoyed a long, award-winning collaboration with the Hyperion Records label, which ended in 2007 when
King was convicted of sexual assault of a minor. Following his sentence,
King and the
Consort founded the Vivat label in 2013 and have recorded there since. Among
King's more than 100 recordings are several of
Handel's operas and oratorios; a series devoted to the complete songs, anthems, and services of
Purcell; Bach's Mass in B minor; and multiple volumes of sacred music by
Vivaldi. In 2019,
King and the
Consort were joined by
Iestyn Davies and James Hall on the Vivat album,
Elegy: Purcell & Blow. As an author,
King has written a biography of
Purcell, which has been described as definitive, and two volumes on English church music.