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
Similar artists
-
TCHAIKOVSKY, P.I.: 1812 Overture / KHACHATURIAN, A.I.: Spartacus
St. Petersburg State Symphony Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Andre Anichanov, Stefan Sanderling, Adrian Leaper
Classical - Released by Naxos on 8 Nov 1995
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
COWEN: Symphony No. 3 / Indian Rhapsody
Slovak State Philharmonic Orchestra, Adrian Leaper
Classical - Released by Marco-Polo on 8 Jun 1990
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ravel Bolero
Classical - Released by ARTE NOVA Classics on 9 Jan 2004
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Gorecki: Symphony 3
Classical - Released by RCA Gold Seal on 26 Jun 1995
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Elgar: Violin Concerto - Cockaigne Overture
Dong-Suk Kang, Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, Adrian Leaper
Classical - Released by Naxos on 20 Nov 1991
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
SIBELIUS: Symphony No. 5
Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra, Adrian Leaper
Classical - Released by Naxos on 1 Apr 1991
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 -
English String Festival
Capella Istropolitana, Adrian Leaper
Classical - Released by Naxos on 10 Apr 1990
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ga Da Mei Lin
Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra, Adrian Leaper
Asia - Released by Marco-Polo on 1 Dec 1991
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
ELGAR: Cello Concerto / Introduction and Allegro / Serenade for Strings
Maria Kliegel, Capella Istropolitana, Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Adrian Leaper, Michael Halasz
Classical - Released by Naxos on 8 Jan 1998
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
SIBELIUS: Symphonies Nos. 3 and 4
Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra, Adrian Leaper
Symphonic Music - Released by Naxos on 12 Jan 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Concerto pour piano - Dance Suite - Variations
National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland, Martin Roscoe, Adrian Leaper
Classical - Released by Marco-Polo on 6 Jun 1994
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
TCHAIKOVSKY: Symphony No. 1 / Hamlet Overture
Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, Adrian Leaper
Classical - Released by Naxos on 30 Oct 1992
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sibelius: Symphonies Nos. 1 and 6
Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra, Adrian Leaper
Symphonic Music - Released by Naxos on 11 Jan 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Villa-Lobos: Choros 1 - 7
Orquesta Filarmónica de Gran Canaria, Adrian Leaper
Classical - Released by Decca (UMO) on 1 Jan 2003
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sibelius: Sym. No. 6 and No. 1
Classical - Released by ARTE NOVA Classics on 1 Sep 1997
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
KODALY: Galanta Dances / Marosszek Dances / The Peacock
Gabriel Koncer, Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra, Adrian Leaper
Classical - Released by Naxos on 1 Jan 1991
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
SIBELIUS: Violin Concerto / SINDING: Legende / HALVORSEN: Norwegian Dances
Dong-Suk Kang, Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra, Adrian Leaper
Violin Concertos - Released by Naxos on 12 Jan 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Fantasias after Shakespeare
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, Adrian Leaper, Antoni Wit
Classical - Released by Naxos on 28 Jun 1994
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
BRIAN: Symphonies Nos. 17 and 32 / In Memoriam
National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland, Adrian Leaper
Classical - Released by Marco-Polo on 7 Oct 1992
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
W.H. Smiths Vol. 16 (British Light Music)
Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra, RTE Concert Orchestra, Adrian Leaper, Ernest Tomlinson, Gary Carpenter, Andrew Penny
Classical - Released by Naxos on 28 Jan 1999
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo