Thomas Ades British composer, pianist and conductor Date of Birth: 01.03.1971 Country: Great Britain

Biography of Thomas Adès

Thomas Adès is a British composer, pianist, and conductor. He was born on March 1, 1971 in London, UK. Adès studied piano with Paul Berkowitz and composition with renowned composer Robert Saxton at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. In 1989, he achieved second place in the piano category of the BBC Young Musician of the year competition.

Adès attended the University College School in Hampstead and later became a student at King's College, Cambridge. His composition teachers at King's College were Alexander Goehr, one of the most prominent British composers of the 20th century, and Robin Holloway. Adès graduated from the college with honors in 1992.

After completing his studies, Adès became a professor of composition at the Royal Academy of Music, one of the oldest conservatories in the UK. In 2004, he was awarded an honorary doctorate degree from the University of Essex. Adès gained attention from the national press in January 1993 after his solo concert at the Purcell Room in London, where he premiered his masterpiece "Still Sorrowing."

In September 1993, Adès joined The Hallé, a Manchester-based orchestra, as a composer. During his two years with the orchestra, he composed "The Origin of the Harp" in 1994. His career continued to flourish with the performance of his "Chamber Symphony" in 1993 and "Living Toys" for chamber orchestra in 1994 at the Barbican Arts Centre.

In 1995, Adès created the opera "Powder Her Face" for the Almeida Theatre in London, which was performed at the Cheltenham Music Festival. From 1998 to 2000, he served as the first music director of the Birmingham Contemporary Music Group.

Adès became the artistic director of the Aldeburgh Festival in 1999 and held the position until 2008 when he was succeeded by pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard. In 2000, Adès was invited to be the composer of the annual Ojai Music Festival in California.

In addition to his accomplishments as a composer, Adès is highly regarded as a conductor. He has worked with orchestras such as the BBC Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, and London Sinfonietta. In 2007, a retrospective festival of his works was held at the Barbican Centre, the largest performing arts center in London and Europe.

Adès has also been a central figure in contemporary music festivals such as "Présences" organized by Radio France and the "Ultimo" festival in Helsinki. The Barbican Festival titled "Traced Overhead: The Musical World of Thomas Adès" included the British premiere of his symphonic work "Tevot" performed by the Berlin Philharmonic under the baton of maestro Simon Rattle.

In 2007, Adès' opera "The Tempest," based on Shakespeare's play, returned to the stage of the Royal Opera House.

In 2009, Adès participated in the Composer Festival at the Stockholm Concert Hall. He has released a solo piano album titled "Thomas Adès: Piano" and several recordings as an accompanist on the EMI label.

Adès entered a civil partnership with Israeli-British filmmaker, animator, and artist Tal Rosner in 2006.