* En anglais uniquement
Nicholas Ward is among the more important English conductors of his generation. He began his career as a violinist playing in orchestras and chamber ensembles, but eventually took up the baton and has since focused largely on works from the Classical and early Romantic periods, having recorded whole chunks of symphonies and string works by
Haydn,
Mozart, and
Mendelssohn. But
Ward's repertory extends into the 20th century and includes music by
Stravinsky,
Shostakovich,
Berkeley, and other composers of the era.
Ward has recorded extensively, the bulk of his work appearing on the Naxos label.
Ward was born in Manchester, England, in 1952. His parents were members of the Manchester-based
Hallé Orchestra. Young
Nicholas showed interest in music as a child, first trying his hand at the piano, then, at age eight, turning to the violin. When he was 12
Ward formed a string quartet that remained active until he enrolled at Manchester's Northern College of Music five years later.
Ward was a student there for six years, studying under
Barry Griffiths, Rudolph Botta, and
Yossi Zivoni. He spent an additional year of study in Brussels with
André Gertler, then, in 1977, relocated to London. It was here where he began his career with two somewhat modest steps, joining the
Melos Ensemble and the
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra as a violinist.
He remained with the
RPO for five years and also had short stints with the
London Mozart Players and the
Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields. In 1984
Ward was appointed co-leader of the
City of London Sinfonia and leader of the
Northern Chamber Orchestra. Soon after
Ward was named music director of the latter ensemble in 1986, he began turning out a string of successful recordings with it.
Among his earlier efforts was the 1992 release on Naxos of
Haydn's Symphonies No. 26, No. 35, and No. 49, part of a larger series, to which
Ward and the
NCO contributed six volumes. For the same label
Ward and his group next recorded 26
Mozart symphonies, also as part of a complete cycle.
Throughout the 1990s and into the first decade of the new century,
Ward (who leads the orchestra from the violin section) helped the
NCO build a reputation as one of the finest chamber ensembles from England. Typically,
Ward and his group have concertized in a variety of locales throughout northern England, including Blackpool, Ludlow, and Lancaster University.
Ward continued recording into the 2000s, with efforts like
Chill with Handel (2003),
Boccherini: Cello Concertos Nos. 9-12 (2005), and
Britten's Beggar's Opera (2009).