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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Edward German: Orchestral Works
Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra, Adrian Leaper
Classical - Released by Naxos on 3 Dec 1992
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
QUILTER: Where the Rainbow Ends / Country Pieces
Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra, Adrian Leaper
Classical - Released by Marco-Polo on 23 Feb 1994
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Coleridge-Taylor: Hiawatha Overture, Petite Suite, & Other Works
RTE Concert Orchestra, Adrian Leaper
Classical - Released by Naxos on 25 Jul 1995
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
HOLBROOKE: Orchestral Works
Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra, Adrian Leaper
Classical - Released by Marco-Polo on 21 Apr 1993
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tchaikovsky: 1812 Overture, Op. 49, TH 49
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Wiener Kammerorchester, Adrian Leaper, Philippe Entremont
Classical - Released by Unclassified on 9 Jun 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Lipkin: Symphonies Nos. 1-3
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, Lionel Friend, Sir Edward Downes, Adrian Leaper
Classical - Released by Lyrita on 1 Apr 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tchaikovsky, P.I.: Complete Symphonies and Piano Concertos
Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, Bernd Glemser, Adrian Leaper, Antoni Wit
Classical - Released by Naxos on 23 Aug 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Curzon: Orchestral Works
Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra, Sylvia Capova, Adrian Leaper
Classical - Released by Naxos on 7 Dec 1992
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Die Planeten - Jupiter (The Planets - Jupiter)
Classical - Released by Sony Classical - Sony Music on 5 Apr 2019
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
WOOD: Sketch of a Dandy / London Cameos
Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra, Adrian Leaper
Classical - Released by Marco-Polo on 2 Mar 1992
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
COATES, E.: Dam Busters (The) / London Suite
Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra, Adrian Leaper
Classical - Released by Marco-Polo on 25 Jun 1993
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
SIBELIUS / ELGAR: Violin Concertos
Dong-Suk Kang, Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra, Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, Adrian Leaper
Classical - Released by Naxos on 10 Jul 1995
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Turina: Sinfonia Sevillana; Evangelio; Ritmos; El Castillo de Almodovar
Catrin Mair Williams, Orquesta Filarmónica de Gran Canaria, Adrian Leaper
Classical - Released by Decca (UMO) on 1 Jan 1999
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Symphonies n°17 & n°32
RTE National Symphony Orchestra, Adrian Leaper
Classical - Released by Naxos on 1 Dec 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Farnon: Westminster Waltz, Colditz March, State Occasion & Other Works
Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra, Adrian Leaper
Classical - Released by Naxos on 1 Jan 1991
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Yellow River Piano Concerto (The) / Chinese Works for Piano Solo
Chengzong Yin, Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra, Adrian Leaper
Classical - Released by Naxos on 29 Jul 1999
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
CHEN / HE: Butterfly Lovers Violin Concerto (The) / CHU: The Yellow River Piano Concerto
Takako Nishizaki, Chengzong Yin, Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra, Kenneth Jean, Adrian Leaper
Classical - Released by Marco-Polo on 22 May 1991
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Orchestral Spectacular
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Adrian Leaper
Classical - Released by Naxos on 18 Jun 1991
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bantock: Hebridean Symphony / Old English Suite
Slovak State Philharmonic Orchestra, Adrian Leaper
Classical - Released by Naxos on 16 May 2001
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
BANTOCK: Hebridean Symphony / Old English Suite
Slovak State Philharmonic Orchestra, Adrian Leaper
Classical - Released by Marco-Polo on 1 Jan 1990
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
CHEN / HE: Butterfly Lovers Violin Concerto (The) / YIN: The Yellow River Piano Concerto
Takako Nishizaki, Chengzong Yin, Shanghai Conservatory Symphony Orchestra, Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra, Cheng-wu Fan, Adrian Leaper
Classical - Released by Marco-Polo on 31 Dec 1995
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo