Les Arts
- Maestro Elder’s commitments per season include two operas and two concerts. After the first year of his tenure, a third concert will be added to the total
- Under the baton of Maestro Elder, the OCV has achieved highest levels of excellence, as well as standing ovations of the Valencian public.
València (24.1.25). The Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía announces that the prestigious British conductor Sir Mark Elder will be the Music Director of the institution as of September 1st, 2025.
Recognized as one of the great maestros of his time, Sir Mark Elder began his collaboration with the Orquestra de la Comunitat Valenciana (OCV) in 2022.
Under the baton of Maestro Elder, the OCV has achieved highest levels of excellence, as well as standing ovations of the Valencian public.
Sir Mark Elder will begin his tenure on the start of the twentieth season of Les Arts. In his first year as Music Director, his commitments include two opera titles and two symphonic concerts. After that time, a third concert will be added to the contractual bond. The contract has a two-year term, extendable for an additional two-year period.
The artistic director of Les Arts, Jesús Iglesias Noriega, has pointed out that the appointment of Sir Mark Elder comes at a time when the orchestra, after intense work in recent years, has a consolidated staff of 76 musicians that allows to raise and address new challenges and artistic projects.
“Sir Mark Elder is one of the greatest names on the international music circuit. His formidable professional career, immeasurable musical background and impeccable professional discipline anticipate a period of excellence, growth and success for the Orquestra de la Comunitat Valenciana and also for Les Arts,” he remarks.
Sir Mark Elder
Sir Mark Elder was Music Director of the Hallé from 2000 – 2024 and is now Conductor Emeritus. He became Principal Guest Conductor of the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra in September 2022. He was Music Director of English National Opera (1979-1993) and of Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, USA (1989 – 1994), Principal Guest Conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra and of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. He has worked with many of the world’s leading symphony orchestras including the Berlin Philharmonic, Orchestre de Paris, Chicago Symphony, Boston Symphony, Royal Concertgebouw, Budapest Festival Orchestra and London Symphony Orchestra. He is a Principal Artist of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and works regularly with the London Philharmonic Orchestra. He has appeared annually at the Proms for many years.
He works regularly in the most prominent international opera houses, including the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Metropolitan Opera New York, Opéra National de Paris, Glyndebourne Festival Opera. Other guest engagements have taken him to the Bayreuth Festival (where he was the first English conductor to conduct a new production), Chicago, Munich, Amsterdam, Zurich, Geneva, Berlin, and the Bregenz and Aix Festivals. Recent and forthcoming opera engagements include Carmen at the Opéra National de Paris, Benvenuto Cellini for Netherlands Opera, Meistersinger for San Francisco Opera, Lohengrin, Peter Grimes, Aida and La forza del destino at Covent Garden, and Meyerbeer’s Le prophète with the LSO at the Aix Festival, as well as Samson et Dalila at the Metropolitan.
Sir Mark Elder has made many recordings with orchestras including the Hallé, London Philharmonic, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, BBC Symphony, the OAE, Orchestra of the Royal Opera House and ENO, in repertoire ranging from Verdi, Strauss and Wagner to contemporary music. He was Artistic Director of Opera Rara for whom his many recordings included the most important bel canto titles. At Les Arts, his concerts with the Orquestra de la Comunitat Valenciana, have included Symphony of the Psalms, Ein Heldenleben, Shostakovitch’s Symphony No. 4 and Mahler’s Symphony No. 6.
