Robin O'Neill - Bassoon
Robin O'Neill is Principal Bassoonist of the Philharmonia Orchestra. He is a former Principal of the English Chamber Orchestra and a founder member of the Chamber Orchestra of Europe. He is a member of London Winds and the Gaudier Ensemble and has made more than 30 CDs of solo and chamber repertoire.Robin O'Neill is Principal Conductor and a member of the artistic committee of the Orchestra Citta Aperta, L'Aquila, Italy and Music Director of The Motion Group. In the past few seasons he has conducted the English Chamber Orchestra both at London's South Bank Centre and at several English Summer Festivals and gave the opening gala concert in the newly refurbished Windsor Castle. It was with the ECO that he conducted his own transcription of Webern's Langsamer Satz. He made his debut conducting the Philharmonia Orchestra at the Rimini Festival 2000 and last summer he both conducted and stage directed a London production of Stravinsky's Soldier's Tale. Last Autumn he conducted another enormously successful new production at St George's Bristol starring Paul McGann. This production, starring Jeremy Irons, was revived at London’s Old Vic Theatre in November 2004 to huge critical acclaim. Robin O’Neill and Andrew Steggall (of The Motion Group) will take this production to Baghdad next year to work with Iraqi actors and musicians alongside British and other nationalities in a unique education and performance project. This will aim to explore the effects of war on the people of Iraq and build meaningful and sustainable relations between artists from different backgrounds and cultures.
Over the last few years Robin O’Neill has broadcast on the BBC, Swedish Radio and Japan Broadcasting Corporation conducting, amongst others, the Stavanger Symphony, the City of London Sinfonia and the Orchestra Ensemble Kanazawa Japan in a wide variety of repertoire including Beethoven's 9th Symphony and the Messiah both with the 350 strong Japan Choral Union.
This season he is appearing with the Philharmonia Orchestra, the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, the London Philharmonic, the Swedish Chamber Orchestra (with whom he will record over the next two years for the Hyperion label) and the Sundsvall Chamber Orchestra. Earlier this year Robin O'Neill and the Orchestra Citta Aperta made a recording on the Cinefonia label of The Dream of Urizen as part of an ongoing survey of the music of the celebrated Italian composer Carlo Crivelli. They will tour this work extensively next year.
Robin O'Neill is a Grammy nominated recording artist with more than thirty CDs to his name with labels such as Sony, Philips, Decca and Hyperion. As a chamber musician he has worked with partners such as Mikhail Pletnev, Mitsuko Uchida, Christoph Eschenbach, Pascal Roge, Boris Beresovsky, Aleksander Madzar, Barry Douglas, Elizabeth Leonskaya, Stephen Kovasovich, Howard Shelley, Pinchas Zuckerman, Salvatore Accardo, Michael Collins and Isabelle van Keulen. He has performed by invitation in front of Prince Charles, Prince of Wales.
During his career as a bassoonist Robin O'Neill worked with all of the worlds finest conductors (including Karajan, Giulini, Solti, Abbado, Levine, Kubelik, Boulez, Muti, Baremboim, Sanderling, Svetlanov and Gergiev) both as soloist and orchestral principal. In 2002 Robin O'Neill was invited to become principal conductor and head of conducting studies at the University of Osaka, a post he was unable to take up due to his many conducting commitments.
WHAT THE PROFESSION SAYS ABOUT ROBIN O’NEILL:
"Robin O'Neill has a first class stick technique, he is extremely musical and most importantly he has the innate sense of rhythm which is often lacking in younger conductors today. He is undoubtedly an artist who will make a significant contribution to music making in the UK and beyond." - Quintin Ballardie, Artistic Director of the English Chamber Orchestra.
"Dear Robin, it was a pleasure to work with you. I am grateful and thrilled." - Georgy Ligeti, composer.
"As conductor in both concert hall and recording studio (he is, I’ve found, in the latter, a motivating and time-efficient artist) he brings to bear not only first rate musicianship but also his experience as a distinguished orchestral principal player. As a result, his people skills and empathetic abilities are highly developed. His musical/stylistic sympathies are wide and his conversation compelling." - Andrew Keener, EMI and RCA Record Producer for Rattle, Tennstedt, Previn, Gergiev, Davis and Slatkin amongst others.
"I have known Robin O'Neill since January of 2003 when I observed him during his preparation of the Rite of Spring and was immediately struck by the extraordinary ability, sensitivity and intuition of this musician. He manages to pursue with rigor his clear interpretative vision with one exceptional human availability towards the orchestra. After this I have seen his work in the recording studio where I have been able to admire the precision and the clarity of the "conducting technique" and the immediate ability to concentrate the minds of all those present. I have felt his interpretations of Beethoven and Haydn to be particularly beautiful. They show an interpretative eclecticism that only a fine intelligence of musical matters allows. Then I have entrusted him with the realisation of a plan of exceptional complexity: my "Dream of Urizen" (from the prophetic Books of W.Blake), a task that he has carried out in the most outstanding way and to every expectation of the composer (Carlo Crivelli), rendering truth to the score and in its more hidden aspects, which could be placed as clear evidence of the depth and intelligence of the ability of this extraordinary interpreter." - Carlo Crivelli, composer.
"Robin O’Neill conducted the brilliant Philharmonia Orchestra in faultless up-tempo style... All praise to O’Neill’s Philharmonia players." - Financial Times.
"the excellent conductor Robin O'Neill" - The Guardian (London).
"Robin O'Neill (who clearly has an affinity with this period of classical/early Romantic music) seized on the vitality of the Haydn Symphony No 88 in G, propelling the music towards the energetic opera buffa finale via an elegant Largo (beautiful oboe playing) and a splendidly vigorous Minuet, the "country-dance" drone in the Trio section catching exactly Haydn's subtle humour. The Spohr 1st Clarinet Concerto was a revelation. O'Neill gave full weight to the dramatic gestures of this friend and champion of Beethoven, starting with a splendid account of the opening C minor build-up to Michael Collins’ first entry. The Beethoven Symphony No 2 was perfect. In a performance of complete conviction, the Scherzo stood out for some splendid woodwind playing, and I shall not soon forget the blazing first trumpet at the end of the first movement Allegro." - Oxford Times.
"The concert's best part was the conductor Robin O'Neill's exemplary conducting of the Schubert symphony, it was very, very well played. This conductor has the ability to balance between control and intensity. It was really a convincing interpretation of this beautiful symphony…" - Sundsvall Morning Post.
"It is a long time since we have heard such a dramatic performance of this greatest of Beethoven’s symphonies (9th). The soloists and chorus excelled themselves, as did the orchestra. Mr O’Neill’s command of the grand structure was truly impressive but he also found time for some beautifully shaped wind solos especially in the serenely paced slow movement." - Hokkoku Shimbun.
"Robin O´Neill showed to be a exemplary interpretator of this music (Mozart). He especially emphasised the humour and motion in the shorter movements. The outer movements achieved a stunning lightness and spring with outstanding playing from the woodwinds. The Andantino became the most beautiful piece of music with phrases lifted by beautiful playing."
"a shapely, direct, very vital and noble interpretation." (Dvorak).