Adrian Leaper
Adrian Leaper is a conductor internationally known more through recordings than personal appearances, although his career has taken him throughout Europe. Leaper has made more than 100 albums, mostly of large-scale romantic music and British light classics, predominantly for the Naxos/Marco Polo and ASV labels.
Born in the U.K. in 1953, Leaper studied at the Royal Academy of Music and served several seasons as co-principal horn in the Philharmonia Orchestra before switching exclusively to conducting. In 1986, after an international competition, Leaper was selected as assistant conductor of the Hallé Orchestra, a post he held for five years. It was during this period that he began recording, at first mainly with Czech and Slovak orchestras, for Naxos. Upon the expiration of his Hallé contract, Leaper entered a period of extensive guest conducting, making the rounds of European radio and provincial orchestras, as well as the leading orchestras of London. In 1994, he became director of the Orquesta Filharmónia de Gran Canaria, a position he held for seven years. With this ensemble, Leaper became more interested in Spanish repertory and made some 40 recordings. In September 2001, he shifted his activity to the RTVE Symphony Orchestra in Madrid, serving as music director.
Leaper's Nielsen symphony cycle on Naxos was generally well-received in the mid-'90s, and his recordings often find favor with critics for their sense of musical architecture and for Leaper's ability to make secondary orchestras play well. On the other hand, Leaper is sometimes faulted, though not generally by reserved British critics, for somewhat staid readings of passionate music by the likes of Tchaikovsky, Mahler, and Sibelius. He continued to record for Naxos into the new century but also released albums on Arte Nova, ASV, and other labels. He has been an enthusiastic champion of British light music (his 1994 album of music by Edward German with the Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra rose to top classical chart levels in 2022) and of lesser-known repertory. In 2016, Leaper led the Czech National Symphony Orchestra in an album of music by José Luis Greco for Naxos' American Classics series.
© James Reel & James Manheim /TiVo
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De Falla: El Amor Brujo, Noches En Los Jardines De Espana, El Sombrero des Tres Picos
Adrian Leaper, Orquesta Filarmónica de Gran Canaria
Classical - Released by ARTE NOVA Classics on 1 Jun 1998
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Grieg: Piano Concerto; Szymanowski: Symphony No. 4 "Symphonie concertante"
Classical - Released by ARTE NOVA Classics on 1 May 1996
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Symphonies Nos. 2 and 3
National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland, Adrian Leaper
Classical - Released by Naxos on 10 May 1995
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Greco: Triptych; Pastel; I'm Superman!
Orquesta Filarmónica de Gran Canaria, Adrian Leaper
Classical - Released by Decca (UMO) on 1 Jan 2003
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mehr als Bolero
Peter Fitz, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Sibylle Briner, Hendrikje Fitz, Adrian Leaper
Classical - Released by Solo Musica on 25 Nov 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sibelius: Symphonies Nos. 2 & 7
Adrian Leaper, Orquesta Filarmónica de Gran Canaria
Classical - Released by ARTE NOVA Classics on 1 Nov 1998
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Holst: The Planets, The Perfect Fool (Ballet Suite)
Adrian Leaper, Orquesta Filarmónica de Gran Canaria
Classical - Released by ARTE NOVA Classics on 26 Jun 1995
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique
Adrian Leaper, Orquesta Filarmónica de Gran Canaria
Classical - Released by ARTE NOVA Classics on 1 Mar 1996
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mahler: Symphony No.5
Classical - Released by ARTE NOVA Classics on 2 Feb 1996
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Berlioz - Symphonie Fantastique
Classical - Released by ARTE NOVA Classics on 1 Mar 1996
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Best Of Classics 25: Sibelius
Classical - Released by ARTE NOVA Classics on 1 Oct 1997
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Best Of Classics 13: Mahler
Classical - Released by ARTE NOVA Classics on 2 Feb 1996
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Best Of Classics 12: Holst
Classical - Released by ARTE NOVA Classics on 26 Jun 1995
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Best Of Classics 5: Berlioz
Classical - Released by ARTE NOVA Classics on 1 Mar 1996
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
British Festival (A)
Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra, CSR Symphony Orchestra, Bratislava, Slovak Philharmonic Chorus, Andrew Penny, Adrian Leaper
Classical - Released by Naxos on 1 Jan 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bolero & Other Spanish Favourites
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra, Adrian Leaper, Kenneth Jean, Keith Clark
Classical - Released by Naxos on 1 Feb 1998
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Dante
Frances Lucey, Nancy Fabiola Herrera, Orquesta Filarmónica de Gran Canaria, Adrian Leaper
Classical - Released by ASV on 24 Jul 2001
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ginastera/Villa-Lobos/Copland: Harp/Harmonica/Clarinet Cto.
Classical - Released by ARTE NOVA Classics on 1 Jun 1998
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mahler: Symphony No. 4
Classical - Released by ARTE NOVA Classics on 1 May 1997
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Dvorak: Symphony No. 7/Slavonic Dances op.72
Classical - Released by ARTE NOVA Classics on 5 May 1997
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique
Classical - Released by ARTE NOVA Classics on 1 Mar 1996
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo