“Richard Egarr, the British conductor, harpsichordist and organist who currently leads the Academy of Ancient Music, has been named to succeed Nicholas McGegan as music director of the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra at the beginning of the 2020-21 season,” writes Joshua Kosman in Thursday’s (1/17) San Francisco Chronicle. “When McGegan steps down in 2020, he will have been at the helm of the orchestra for 35 years…. Egarr, 55, lives in Amsterdam with his wife, the keyboardist Alexandra Nepomnyashchaya—with whom he has made several recordings … In addition to his position with the Academy, which he will give up at the end of the 2020-21 season, he holds conducting posts with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra in Minnesota and the Residentie Orkest The Hague. Asked about his plans for Philharmonia, Egarr proclaimed himself a ‘musical omnivore…. I’m hoping to do repertoire that the orchestra hasn’t done yet, including by the Romantics, as well as Baroque pieces that haven’t been done all that much. I think there’s still a lot to learn even in music from the Classical period.’ He’s even dreaming of a possible collaboration with Björk. ‘I can imagine her doing some early repertoire really well.’ ”
Posted January 18, 2019
