PeterWhelan

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Conductor & Harpsichord
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Melanie Moult

Melanie Moult

Associate Director
Philip Keegan

Philip Keegan

Assistant Artist Manager

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About Peter

Artistic Director: Irish Baroque Orchestra & Marsyas Ensemble Artistic Partner: Irish National Opera Curator for Early Music: Norwegian Wind Ensemble

Peter Whelan is among the most dynamic and versatile exponents of historical performance of his generation, with a remarkable career as a conductor and director. He is also an acclaimed solo artist with an extensive and award-winning discography as a solo bassoonist.

As conductor, Peter has a passion for championing neglected music from the Baroque and Classical eras. Recent engagements have included appearances with English Concert, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Beethoven Orchester Bonn, Netherlands Chamber Orchestra, Portland Baroque Orchestra, Lahti Symphony Orchestra, Oulu Symphony Orchestra and Orchestre de Chambre du Luxembourg.

In the 2022/23 season, Peter conduced Vivaldi’s seldom-performed Bajazet with Irish National Opera, which was met with outstanding reviews and won an Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in Opera. He also made his debut at San Francisco Opera, conducting Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice.

Highlights of the 23/24 season include Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Monteverdi Choir, English Baroque Soloists, Royal Northern Sinfonia, Dunedin Consort, la festa musicale, Meininger Hofkapelle and Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra. Peter returns to Irish National Opera for a production of Vivaldi’s rarely performed l’Olimpiade in May 2024.

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Season Highlights

May 2024
Sibelius Hall, Lahti
Mozart Requiem Lahti Symphony Orchestra Dominante Choir Peter Whelan (conductor) Aurora Marthens (soprano) Lilli Paasikivi (mezzo) Markus Nykänen (tenor) Matti Turunen (bass)
Sep 2024
Espoo Cultural Centre
Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No.1 in F major Stravinsky Pulcinella Suite Bach Sinfonia from Cantata 174 Biber Battalia à 10 Bach Brandenburg Concerto No.2 in F major Tapiola Sinfonietta Peter Whelan (harpsichord and director)
Oct 2024
University Aula, Oslo
Handel Concerti a due cori, HWV 332 & 333 Beethoven Symphony No.7 in A major Det Norske Blåseensemble Peter Whelan (conductor)

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Press

  • Handel's 'Israel in Egypt' with Monteverdi Choir and Orchestra

    Palau de la Música Catalana, Philharmonie Luxembourg, St Martin in the Fields and Elbphilharmonie
    Mar 2024 - Mar 2024

    • An extremely effective reading with a sharpness that Whelan molded exquisitely.

    • Peter Whelan's direction played a crucial role, ensuring perfect harmony between choir and orchestra and intensifying the spiritual experience of the work. His mastery in balancing moments of great expression and those of intimate reflection captured the emotional and spiritual essence of "Israel in Egypt.

    • Nothing can be criticized of the detailed direction of the "substitute" Peter Whelan, always dynamic, brilliant and with absolute precision.

    • A thrilling performance of Handel's Oratorio - a sense of joy and release vividly conveyed under Peter Whelan's direction.

    • ★★★★★ This vivid choral work could hardly have sounded more exhilarating. Directing from the keyboard, he was mostly on his feet, all but dancing from start to finish. The orchestral playing was buoyant as well as sensitive, the choral work dazzling...Versatile is an inadequate description for this multitalented, Irish-born musician. affect with a pulsating energy and intensity that gave goosebumps.

    • The Monteverdi Choir and the English Baroque Soloists under the direction of Peter Whelan overwhelmed the audience at the Elbphilharmonie... He wants to touch and overwhelm. And he succeeds, unleashing a stunning intensity. It's hard to bring this music, which is almost three hundred years old, to life in a more exciting, modern and rousing way.

    • ★★★★★ With shimmering gestures, Whelan connected with his musicians, teasing out every theatrical affect with a pulsating energy and intensity that gave goosebumps.

Discography