Nicholas Ward
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).
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HAYDN: Symphonies, Vol. 6 (Nos. 26, 35, 49)
Northern Chamber Orchestra, Nicholas Ward
Symphonieorchester - Erschienen bei Naxos am 23.04.1993
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Symphonies (Volume 8)
Northern Chamber Orchestra, Nicholas Ward
Symphonieorchester - Erschienen bei Naxos am 01.06.1994
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Cello Concertos, Nos. 9-12
Raphael Wallfisch, Northern Chamber Orchestra, Nicholas Ward
Klassik - Erschienen bei Naxos am 02.01.2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rodrigo / Villa-Lobos / Castelnuovo-Tedesco: Guitar Concertos
Norbert Kraft, Northern Chamber Orchestra, Nicholas Ward
Klassik - Erschienen bei Naxos am 01.01.1993
Prise de Son d'Exception16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Haydn: Symphonies, Vol. 7
Northern Chamber Orchestra, Nicholas Ward
Klassik - Erschienen bei Naxos am 04.02.1994
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Symphonies (Volume 9)
Northern Chamber Orchestra, Nicholas Ward
Symphonieorchester - Erschienen bei Naxos am 01.01.1994
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Symphonies Nos. 11 - 14
Northern Chamber Orchestra, Nicholas Ward
Symphonieorchester - Erschienen bei Naxos am 07.04.1995
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Popular Guitar Music
Norbert Kraft, John Holmquist, Adam Holzman, Jeffrey Mcfadden, Northern Chamber Orchestra, Nicholas Ward
Klassik - Erschienen bei Naxos am 10.07.2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Symphonies, Vol. 2
Northern Chamber Orchestra, Nicholas Ward
Symphonieorchester - Erschienen bei Naxos am 26.02.1999
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
G. Bush: Pieces for Orchestra
Northern Chamber Orchestra, Raphael Wallfisch, Nicholas Ward
Klassik - Erschienen bei Lyrita am 01.11.2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Italian Oboe Concertos, Vol. 1
Anthony Camden, City Of London Sinfonia, Julia Girdwood, Nicholas Ward
Klassik - Erschienen bei Naxos am 19.11.1996
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Symphonies Nos. 19, 20 and 37, Nicholas Ward
Northern Chamber Orchestra, Nicholas Ward
Klassik - Erschienen bei Naxos am 21.11.1995
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Symphonies (Volume 10)
Northern Chamber Orchestra, Nicholas Ward
Symphonieorchester - Erschienen bei Naxos am 27.10.1994
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Italian Oboe Concertos, Vol. 2
Anthony Camden, City Of London Sinfonia, Peter Lloyd, Nicholas Ward
Klassik - Erschienen bei Naxos am 22.11.2001
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
String Symphonies, Vol. 3
Northern Chamber Orchestra, Nicholas Ward
Klassik - Erschienen bei Naxos am 16.07.1997
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Magnificat in D major, BWV 243 / Ich habe genug, BWV 82
Oxford Schola Cantorum, Northern Chamber Orchestra, Nicholas Ward
Klassik - Erschienen bei Naxos am 18.01.1995
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
String Symphonies, Vol. 2
Northern Chamber Orchestra, Nicholas Ward
Klassik - Erschienen bei Naxos am 02.08.1996
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Gloria, RV 589 / Beatus Vir, RV 597
Oxford Schola Cantorum, Northern Chamber Orchestra, Nicholas Ward, Jeremy Summerly
Klassik - Erschienen bei Naxos am 06.02.1995
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
STRAVINSKY (THE BEST OF)
Bournemouth Sinfonietta, Brussels Philharmonic, Northern Chamber Orchestra, Stefan Sanderling, Ali Rahbari, Nicholas Ward
Symphonieorchester - Erschienen bei Naxos am 20.05.1997
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Violin Concertos
Lorraine McAslan, Tim Hugh, Northern Chamber Orchestra, Nicholas Ward
Klassik - Erschienen bei Naxos am 25.09.1998
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Symphonies Nos. 15 - 18
Northern Chamber Orchestra, Nicholas Ward
Klassik - Erschienen bei Naxos am 01.06.1995
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo