Owain Arwel Hughes
One of the leading conductors from the U.K., Owain Arwel Hughes has become as well known for his interpretations of Danish music as for British, and he is equally at home with choral works as with orchestral. Although Hughes successfully launched his career in England and Wales, he branched out, both in his conducting activities and in his choice of repertory, when he accepted the post of principal conductor of the Ålborg Symphony Orchestra in Denmark. Not surprisingly, Hughes' orchestral/choral repertory includes much British music -- works by Elgar, Delius, Vaughan Williams, and others -- and an eclectic array of music by Beethoven, Rachmaninov, Schnittke, and many more. Hughes has made over 50 recordings, spread over many labels, including BIS, EMI, and Warner Classics.
Owain Arwel Hughes was born in Ton Pentre, in the Rhondda Valley of Wales, on March 21, 1942. His father was the composer Arwel Hughes. He studied music at Cardiff University and the Royal College of Music in London; among his teachers were a quite distinguished trio of Adrian Boult, Bernard Haitink, and Rudolf Kempe. Hughes served as associate conductor of the Philharmonia Orchestra in London in the 1970s. From 1980 to 1986, he worked in the same capacity for the BBC Welsh Symphony Orchestra.
In 1986, Hughes founded the Welsh Proms Cymru, a yearly summer festival of music for which he has served as artistic director ever since. In the 1980s, he also worked as principal associate conductor of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Hughes accepted the post of principal conductor with the Ålborg Symphony Orchestra in 1994. He soon became a champion of the music of the composer Vagn Holmboe. A stream of recordings on the BIS label followed, including the massive Holmboe cycle, featuring all 14 symphonies (the 13 numbered symphonies and the unnumbered Sinfonia "In Memoriam").
Hughes departed his Ålborg post in 1999. In 2003, he was appointed music director of the National Youth Orchestra of Wales. The following year, he was awarded the title of Officer of the British Empire, and in 2009, he was elevated to Commander of the British Empire. Hughes founded the Camerata Wales in 2005 and has since served as its music director. In 2008, he led the Danish National Radio Symphony Orchestra in a recording of Knudåge Riisager's Benzin and other orchestral works. Hughes remained with the National Youth Orchestra of Wales until 2010. In 2014, he was named the professor of performance at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David. Conducting the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Hughes launched a cycle of Sibelius' symphonies on the Rubicon label in 2020, with the second release appearing in 2022.
© Robert Cummings & Keith Finke /TiVo
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Sibelius: Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 43, Symphony No. 4 in A Minor, Op. 63
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Owain Arwel Hughes
Symphonies - Paru chez RUBICON le 25 mars 2022
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Holmboe: Complete Symphonies
Aarhus Symphony Orchestra, Owain Arwel Hughes
Classique - Paru chez BIS le 31 oct. 1996
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Borresen: Symfonier
Aalborg Symphony Orchestra, Owain Arwel Hughes
Classique - Paru chez Naxos le 1 août 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Arwel Hughes: Oratorio Dewi Sant
Chorus of the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, BBC National Orchestra Of Wales, Owain Arwel Hughes, Susan Bullock, Paul Carey Jones, Rhodri Prys-jones
Oratorios sacrés - Paru chez RUBICON le 25 août 2023
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Sibelius: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 3
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Owain Arwel Hughes
Symphonies - Paru chez Rubicon le 25 sept. 2020
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Sibelius: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 3
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Owain Arwel Hughes
Classique - Paru chez Rubicon le 25 sept. 2020
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
The Planets
Cambridge Singers, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Owain Arwel Hughes
Classique - Paru chez Royal Philharmonic Orchestra le 2 sept. 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Borresen: Den Konge
Henrik Brendstrup, Aalborg Symphony Orchestra, Owain Arwel Hughes
Classique - Paru chez Naxos le 20 mai 1999
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Vaughan Williams Christmas Carols
Cardiff Festival Choir, Owain Arwel Hughes
Classique - Paru chez imp le 1 janv. 1997
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Fire That Breaks from Thee
The BBC Concert Orchestra, Rupert Marshall-Luck, Owain Arwel Hughes
Classique - Paru chez EM Records le 15 mai 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Hymns Of Vaughan Williams
Cardiff Festival Choir, Owain Arwel Hughes
Classique - Paru chez imp le 1 janv. 1997
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sullivan: Irish Symphony, Imperial March, Victoria and Merrie England & In Memoriam
The BBC Concert Orchestra, Linden Harris, Owain Arwel Hughes
Classique - Paru chez CPO le 29 nov. 1994
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
HOLMBOE: Symphonies Nos. 4 and 5
Mogens Dahl, Jutland Opera Choir, Aarhus Symphony Orchestra, Owain Arwel Hughes
Musique symphonique - Paru chez BIS le 1 nov. 1992
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Here Come the Classics, Vol. 9: Great Choral Classics
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Owain Arwel Hughes, Goldsmiths' Choral Union
Classique - Paru chez RPO le 18 oct. 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Elgar: Serenade for Strings / Elegy / Holst: St Paul's Suite / Hughes: Fantasia
Classique - Paru chez BIS le 1 févr. 2007
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Benzin (Knudåge Riisager)
Musique symphonique - Paru chez Dacapo le 1 janv. 2000
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Grand Opera Gala
Opéra - Paru chez Warner Classics le 3 mai 2004
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms: Complete Symphonies
Stuttgarter Philharmoniker, Owain Arwel Hughes
Classique - Paru chez Quartz Music le 1 janv. 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Handel: Messiah
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, The Royal Choral Society, Owain Arwel Hughes
Classique - Paru chez imp le 1 janv. 1994
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schnittke: Symphony No. 0 / Nagasaki
Classique - Paru chez BIS le 17 févr. 2006
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Holmboe: Symphonies Nos. 1, 3 and 10
Aarhus Symphony Orchestra, Owain Arwel Hughes
Classique - Paru chez BIS le 1 mai 1994
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo