Conductor Julian Reynolds enjoys an international career in the operatic and concert repertoire. Most recent seasons’ successes have included engagements at the Netherlands Opera for Il barbiere di Siviglia and Norma, which is available in DVD format on Opus Arte, in Sankt Gallen for Tosca, Norma, and Hänsel und Gretel, at the Grand Théâtre de la Ville in Luxembourg with Il barbiere di Seviglia, and acclaimed performances of Puccini’s Il trittico in Modena, Ferrara, and Piacenza. He will make his debut at Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie in Bruxelles with Elisabetta Regina d’Inghliterra followed by Il cappello di paglia di Firenze in the same, Tosca at the Tore del Lago and in Treviso.
In 1986, Julian Reynolds was appointed Assistant Music Director at the Netherlands Opera in Amsterdam, conducting Bluebeard’s Castle, Mitridate, Le nozze di Figaro, L’italiana in Algeri, Luisa Miller, and L’elisir d’amore, among others. During his tenure at the Netherlands Opera, he worked with other presenters in the country, most notably in productions of Madama Butterfly and Prihody Lisky Bistrousky (Cunning Little Vixen) with Opera Zuid, and semi-staged performances of Norma and Die lustige Witwe at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam.
Maestro Reynolds made his German debut with Otello at the Staatstheater Stuttgart, followed by a new production of Luisa Miller with the Staatstheater Mainz, and Gianni Schicchi in Luxembourg. He has been a regular guest conductor with the Kirov Opera in the Maryinsky Theatre St. Petersburg, making his debut with the company conducting La traviata, and went on to lead a new production of Verdi’s Don Carlos, followed by Samson et Dalila, and the Kirov’s first ever production of Le nozze di Figaro.
Maestro Reynolds made his North of American debut at the Canadian Opera Company in Toronto with L’italiana in Algeri in Toronto. In the same season he made his Wexford Opera Festival debut with Weinberger’s Svanda dudák, the recording of which is available on Naxos. He has led Gianni Schicchi in Luxemburg, Carmen at both the Teatro Regio di Parma and at the Arena di Verona, and Adelina at the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro, and made his debut on the Sankt Gallen podium with La Cenerentola followed quickly by Otello, and conducted Lucrezia Borgia at the Festivales de Musica de Castillon.
Enjoying an extensive symphonic repertoire, Maestro Reynolds has been a guest conductor of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, The Australian Chamber Orchestra, Aukland Philharmonia, Dutch Radio Philharmonic, Netherlands Philharmonic, Netherlands Chamber Orchestra, , Melbourne International Festival, Teatro di San Carlo in Naples, and the orchestra of the Deutsche Oper am Rhein, where he led his own orchestration of Lieder by Alma Mahler, which he recorded with soprano Charlotte Margiono on the Globe label.
An active recital accompanist, Maestro Reynolds has worked extensively with Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Susan Graham, and Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, both in recital and as conductor.
Meastro Reynolds’ discography includes recordings of Rossini Overtures, Ravel’s Ma Mère l’Oye , Saint-Saens’ Le Carnaval des animaux and several Rossini rarities, for Globe Records. As a pianist he has recorded the complete works for piano and violin of Beethoven, Schubert and Schumann with violinist Johannes Leertouwer.
Julian Reynolds was born in London in 1962. He studied piano with Albert Ferber and Noretta Conci, and at the Vienna Hochschule für Musik. At the age of 18 he became pianist with the European Community Youth Orchestra (ECYO), where he assisted Claudio Abbado and Leonard Bernstein. He made his solo recital debut at Wigmore Hall London and, was a finalist in the 1984 Ferruccio Busoni Competition in Bolzano. After receiving his degree in History, Musicology and Analysis from Kings College London University, he studied conducting at Guildhall School of Music and later in Vienna. As conductor of the European Chamber Orchestra Per Musica, Maestro Reynolds toured Europe appearing at the Pesaro Rossini Festival, the Evian Festival and London’s Queen Elizabeth Hall, recording extensively with the ensemble.