Howard Shelley
A fixture of the Hyperion label's Romantic Piano Concerto series, pianist Howard Shelley has also specialized in the music of Rachmaninov and in British music of the 20th century. He often conducts from the keyboard.
Shelley was born on March 3, 1950, in London. His early skills were prodigious; he made his debut at the age of ten on BBC television and graduated from the Royal College of Music in London at 21. In 1972, he made his debut at the Henry Wood Promenade Concerts, and he has been a frequent presence both there and on BBC broadcast outlets. Shelley's focus on Rachmaninov was most pronounced in the 1980s. He began a complete series of recordings of that composer's solo piano works on the Hyperion label in 1982, and the following year, he performed them all in a marathon over several days at Wigmore Hall in London. Shelley recorded Rachmaninov's four piano concertos for Chandos in 1989 & 1990. By that time, he had already begun conducting, both from the keyboard and, in non-keyboard works, from the podium. He was associate conductor and then principal guest conductor of the London Mozart Players in the early '90s. He also made guest appearances with top British orchestras, including the Philharmonia Orchestra and the London Symphony Orchestra. Later, Shelley performed a complete cycle of Beethoven's concertos with the BBC Philharmonic.
Shelley has recorded prolifically for Hyperion and Chandos, often issuing several albums in the course of a single year. He has recorded many works by post-Classical composers such as Johann Baptist Cramer and Muzio Clementi. That specialization grew into a major series of recordings for Hyperion under the auspices of its series "The Romantic Piano Concerto," which aimed at a large-scale excavation of forgotten 19th century works. On these recordings, Shelley often conducted the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra from the keyboard. By 2022, the series had reached its 81st volume, with Shelley performing and conducting works by composer Alois (Aloys) Schmitt. A second Hyperion series, "The Classical Piano Concerto," launched in 2014 with Shelley again as pianist/conductor; by 2021, there were eight volumes, including one of works by Georg Benda that appeared that year. Shelley also embarked on a complete cycle of Mendelssohn's solo piano music, and his work appeared on a recording of Chopin's piano-and-orchestra music issued by the Fryderyk Chopin Institute in Warsaw.
Appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 2009, Shelley is married to pianist Hilary Macnamara, with whom he has performed in duo piano music. The couple has a son, Alexander Shelley, who is a conductor, and Howard Shelley has performed under his baton.
© James Manheim /TiVo
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Dohnányi: Suite in F-Sharp Minor, Variations on a Nursery Theme & The Veil of Pierrette
Matthias Bamert, BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, Howard Shelley
Symphonies - Released by Chandos on 1 May 1999
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
RUBBRA: Sinfonia concertante / A Tribute / The Morning Watch / Ode to the Queen
Howard Shelley, BBC National Chorus of Wales, Susan Bickley, BBC National Orchestra Of Wales, Richard Hickox
Symphonic Music - Released by Chandos on 1 Nov 2001
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Aubade
Vasteras Sinfonietta, Howard Shelley
Classical - Released by Naxos Sweden - dB on 16 Sep 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Hiller: Piano Concertos (Hyperion Romantic Piano Concerto 45)
Howard Shelley, Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra
Classical - Released by Hyperion on 1 Apr 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Steibelt: Piano Concertos Nos. 3, 5 & 7 Hyperion Classical Piano Concerto 2)
Howard Shelley, Ulster Orchestra
Classical - Released by Hyperion on 31 Dec 2015
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Herz: Piano Concertos Nos. 1, 7 & 8 (Hyperion Romantic Piano Concerto 35)
Howard Shelley, Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra
Classical - Released by Hyperion on 1 Jun 2004
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Dussek: Piano Concertos Op. 3, 14 & 49 (Hyperion Classical Piano Concerto 5)
Howard Shelley, Ulster Orchestra
Classical - Released by Hyperion on 31 Aug 2018
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Clementi: Complete Piano Sonatas, Vol. 1
Classical - Released by Hyperion on 1 Feb 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Moscheles: Piano Concertos Nos. 4 & 5 (Hyperion Romantic Piano Concerto 36)
Howard Shelley, Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra
Classical - Released by Hyperion on 1 Mar 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Lieghton: Orchestral Music, Vol. 3
BBC National Orchestra Of Wales, Howard Shelley, Martyn Brabbins
Symphonic Music - Released by Chandos on 1 Nov 2003
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Benedict & Macfarren: Piano Concertos (Hyperion Romantic Piano Concerto 48)
Howard Shelley, Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra
Classical - Released by Hyperion on 2 Jul 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
PIANO CONCERTOS VOL. 5
Howard Shelley, London Mozart Players
Keyboard Concertos - Released by Chandos on 1 Nov 1994
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Moscheles: Piano Concertos Nos. 2 & 3 (Hyperion Romantic Piano Concerto 29)
Howard Shelley, Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra
Classical - Released by Hyperion on 1 May 2002
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sergei Leiferkus Sings Rachmaninoff Songs for Baritone
Sergei Leiferkus, Howard Shelley
Mélodies - Released by Chandos on 1 Jun 1995
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Œuvres orchestrales
Howard Shelley, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Richard Hickox
Symphonic Music - Released by Chandos on 12 Feb 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Dohnanyi: Violin Concerto, Concertino & Piano Concerto No. 2
Matthias Bamert, BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, James Ehnes, Clifford Lantaff, Howard Shelley
Concertos - Released by Chandos on 1 Sep 2004
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Dohnanyi: Piano Concertos. Nos. 1 & 2
Matthias Bamert, BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, Howard Shelley
Concertos - Released by Chandos on 1 May 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rubbra: Symphony No. 1, A Tribute, Sinfonia concertante
BBC National Orchestra Of Wales, Howard Shelley, Richard Hickox
Symphonic Music - Released by Chandos on 1 May 1997
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Concertos pour piano (Volume 2)
Howard Shelley, London Mozart Players
Keyboard Concertos - Released by Chandos on 1 Jun 1992
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rachmaninoff: Songs, Vol. 2
Joan Rodgers, Maria Popescu, Alexandre Naoumenko, Sergei Leiferkus, Howard Shelley
Mélodies - Released by Chandos on 1 Apr 1996
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Berkeley, L. / Berkeley, M.: Berkeley Edition, Vol. 6
BBC National Orchestra Of Wales, Kathryn Stott, Richard Hickox, Howard Shelley
Symphonic Music - Released by Chandos on 1 Mar 2007
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo