Edward Gardner 1

Edward Gardner


Edward Gardner 2

Edward Gardner (b. 1974) is internationally recognized as one of the leading conductors of his generation. Gardner became music director of the English National Opera (ENO) in London in 2007, a position he held until spring 2015. In 2011, as the youngest conductor in history, he led the prestigious Last Night of the Proms concert at the Royal Albert Hall. In June 2012, he was awarded the OBE (Order of the British Empire) for his contribution to British music life. Gardner regularly conducts in the major international opera houses; The Metropolitan in New York, La Scala in Milan, the Paris Opera and the Glyndebourne Festival Opera. He is a highly sought-after orchestral guest conductor and in the 2017-2018 season made his debut with, among others, the New York Philharmonic and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. 

Edward Gardner has an exclusive contract with the record company Chandos and has released a number of CDs that have been met with rave reviews. With the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, he has recorded a number of CDs: Orchestral Realizations with music by Luciano Berio, a series of three critically acclaimed CDs with music by Leoš Janáček, Jean Sibelius' songs, Arnold Schönberg's Gurrelieder, Bela Bartók's Concerto for Orchestra, a recording with Grieg's piano concerto and the stage music for Peer Gynt, Sibelius with Lise Davidsen, Britten and Canteloube with Mari Eriksmoen, works by Marius Neset with the composer as soloist, and Benjamin Britten's Peter Grimes. The latter was named Opera Recording of the Year 2021 and Recording of the Year 2021 regardless of genre by Gramophone. More releases to come. 

Gardner has been chief conductor of the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra since 2015. Gardner has led the orchestra on five successful international tours to Sweden, Germany, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Italy, Slovenia and Croatia. Gardner spearheaded the successful performance of Britten's Peter Grimes at the Edinburgh International Festival in 2017. In 2018, he took the orchestra on a return visit to the BBC Proms in London and the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, and also visited the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg and the Chopin Festival in Warsaw. In 2019, Gardner returned with the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, Bergen Philharmonic Choir, Edvard Grieg Choir and Collegium Musicum Choir to the Royal Festival Hall in London to perform Peter Grimes. The performance was named one of the year's most important classical cultural events in Great Britain that year. 

In 2022, Gardner leads two international tours with the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, first to Katowice in Poland for two concerts with Leif Ove Andsnes and Ragnhild Hemsing as soloists, and then to the Edinburgh International Festival, Copenhagen, Wiesbaden and Bremen.