Pannon Philharmonic

Howard Williams has gained an enviable reputation through his achievements both in the opera house and on the concert platform. He has conducted most of the major orchestras of Great Britain, including the London Philharmonic, Royal Philharmonic, and BBC Symphony, as well as all the BBC regional orchestras, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic,the Royal Scottish National, Bournemouth Symphony, English Chamber Orchestra and London Sinfonietta.

He has conducted at the BBC Proms and at the Edinburgh, Leeds, Bath and Brighton Festivals.He is a frequent guest with the principal symphony orchestras of Holland, Belgium and France, as well as working in Austria, Sweden, Hong Kong and Rio de Janiero. Ou of his conducting list of more than 500 titles in the concert hall, certain preferences emerge - for instance, the symphonies of Haydn, the works of Stravinsky, Bartók and Messiaen, and works with chorus are prominent. The foundation of Williams impressive operatic repertoire was laid during six years on the staff of English National Opera, and from that time it has continued to broaden, now including some sixty works ranging from Monteverdi to Birtwistle. Central to his repertoire are the works of Rossini, Verdi and Puccini, but is now seen to be equally at home working with Baroque orchestras, as also in presenting new works.

Amongst his several world premiéres have been the small-orchestra version of Tippetts The Knot Garden and his own completion of Bizet´s grand opera Ivan IV. With the orchestra of English Bach Festival he has conducted productions at Covent Garden of Monteverdis La Orfeo and Purcell´s The Fairy Queen and Dido and Aeneas. His work in the theatre has also included the major ballets of Tchaikovsky and Stravinsky, as well as other programmes with the Royal Ballet at Covent Garden and recently with the Dutch National Ballet, Netherlands Dance Theatre and Hamburg Ballet.

His close connection with Hungary was established in 1989 when he was appointed Principal Conductor and Artistic Director of the Pécs Symphony Orchestra, becoming the first British conductor to hold a Hungarian post. While at the same time establishing a close and continuing relationship with the Hungarian State Symphony Orchestra, Williams´s work with the Pécs Symphony quickly placed it in the forefront of Hungarian orchestras. He created a broad and adventurous repertoire, ranging from Stravinsky and Mahler cycles to many important national premiéres ( of Ligeti and Berio, to select but two ).

As well as revelling in the opportunity to deepen his knowledge of the music of Bartók, he has also been active in supporting the present younger generation of Hungarian composers. His previous CD recordings with the Pécs Symphony Orchestra include an all-Rachmaninov disc for Hungaroton , the Requiem and Missa Solemnis in F by the 18th Century Pécs composer György Lickl ( Koch Schwann), and cello concertos by Miklós Rózsa and Gerard Schurmann for Silvascreen. His list of recordings includes many others with British and Dutch orchestras. In recognition of his work in Hungary, Howard Williams has received the Pro Civitate award from the City of Pécs in 1993 as well as an Artisjus award for his services to new Hungarian music.