AlpeshChauhan OBE

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  • Conductor

About Alpesh

Principal Guest Conductor: Düsseldorfer Symphoniker Music Director: Birmingham Opera Company Principal Conductor & Musical Advisor: National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain

Praised for his “lithe, expressive and bold conducting style” (Seen & Heard), British conductor Alpesh Chauhan is Principal Guest Conductor of the Düsseldorfer Symphoniker, Music Director of Birmingham Opera Company and the recently appointed Principal Conductor & Musical Advisor of the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain.

Alpesh's 26/27 season includes debuts with Orchestre National de Lyon and Bremer Philharmoniker, and returns to Vancouver Symphony, Belgian National, Philharmonia Orchestra, London Philharmonic, Royal Philharmonic, BBCNOW, City of Birmingham, Stavanger and Gavle Symphony Orchestras. He collaborates with soloists such as Kian Soltani, Bomsori Kim and Johannes Moser.

His long-standing relationship with the Düsseldorfer Symphoniker is lauded both for its creative and bold programming and special audience connection and tours across the UK in 2027.

Recent highlights include Atlanta Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Seattle, Utah, Detroit, Toronto and National Symphony of Washington, BBC Symphony, BBC Scottish Symphony including at the BBC Proms, Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, La Fenice and RAI Torino.

As Music Director of Birmingham Opera Company, Alpesh champions a unique approach in bringing opera to the wider community – with recent productions acclaimed for their "exemplary music-making" (The Guardian) and Judith Weir’s “women.life.song” recently being nominated for a RPS award.

In 2022 Alpesh received an OBE in the New Year's Honours for Services to the Arts. In recent years he also received the Conductor Award from the Italian National Association of Music Critics for ‘Miglior Direttore’ and was named 'Newcomer of the Year' at 2021 Opera Awards. He was conferred an Honorary Fellow of the RNCM in 2024.

Alpesh is based in Birmingham, United Kingdom

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Contact

Laura Baker

Laura Baker

Senior Artist Manager
Chiara Fahy-Spada

Chiara Fahy-Spada

Associate Artist Manager

Representation

General management with Askonas Holt

AMC Artists (Italy)

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Season Highlights

Oct 2026
Concert Hall, Stavanger
Stavanger Symphony Orchestra Jaeden Izik-Dzurko (piano) SERGEI RACHMANINOV: Piano Concerto No. 3 Op. 30 IGOR STRAVINSKY: Petrushka (1947 version)
Nov 2026
Auditorium de Lyon, Lyon
Orchestre National de Lyon Kian Soltani (cello) LOUISE FARRENC: Overture No. 2 ROBERT SCHUMANN: Cello Concerto in A minor Op. 129 IGOR STRAVINSKY: The Firebird
Jan 2027
Glocke, Bremen
Bremen Philharmonic  DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH: The Gadfly
Mar 2027
Orpheum Theatre, Vancouver
Vancouver Symphony Orchestra Bomsori Kim (violin) WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART: Violin Concerto No. 5 in A major K. 219 DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH: Symphony No. 8 Op. 65
Apr 2027
UK Tour
Düsseldorfer Symphoniker Hyeyoon Park (violin) Johannes Moser (cello) THOMAS ADÈS: Shanty - Over the Sea ANTONIN DVORAK: Cello Concerto in B minor Op. 104 (J Moser) / JOHANNES BRAHMS: Violin Concerto in D Major Op. 77  (H Park) PYOTR TCHAIKOVSKY: Symphony No. 4 / FELIX MENDELSSOHN: Symphony No. 3

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Press

  • Belgian National Orchestra: Farrenc, Tchaikovsky & Rachmaninov

    Concertgebouw, Amsterdam
    Jul 2026

    • He [Chauhan] wisely gave all on stage the freedom to find their own voice. Rachmaninov’s endless melodies found time to breathe. His assured presence brought quiet calm as three chiming bells of doom depicted the composer’s own thoughts of an afterlife in this, his final major work before his death three years later. Navigating endless changes of meter and mood, swirling harp glissandi gave way to bass clarinet terror, sending chills down the spine. A jubilant finale led to rapturous applause. Chauhan’s return visit to the orchestra’s home turf in December is definitely one to watch.

  • La Fenice Orchestra: Smetana, Kodály and Sibelius

    Teatro La Fenice, Italy
    Apr 2026

    • Alpesh Chauhan proved an ideal interpreter, approaching this repertoire without excessive emotional indulgence, thus restoring the full charm of these scores….Chauhan’s conducting was authoritative and expressive in its essential clarity, supported perfectly by the orchestra.

  • NYO: Wagner, Prokofiev & Hisaishi

    Royal Festival Hall, London
    Apr 2026

  • BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra: Hussain, Rachmaninoff, Stravinsky

    City Halls, Glasgow
    Mar 2025

    • Chauhan was a consummate ringmaster, deftly in control, inspiring slick communication between the starry trio and backline.

  • City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra: Beethoven, Mahler

    Symphony Hall, Birmingham, UK
    Mar 2025

    • ★ ★ ★ ★ Beethoven’s Symphony no. 6 in F major "Pastoral" and Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde inhabit very different natural worlds – one literal, one metaphorical – yet conductor Alpesh Chauhan managed to establish compelling connections between them[…] Without overdoing it, Chauhan brought to mind the obsessive use of motif in Beethoven’s Fifth, establishing a vivid sense of compositional continuity.

  • The Hallé: Strauss, Herz, Prokofiev

    Bridgewater Hall, Manchester, UK
    Feb 2025

    • ★ ★ ★ ★ Alpesh Chauhan...directed the Hallé with lively charisma in this colourful programme. Strauss’ Don Juan had begun the evening with testosterone-laden swagger in its opening minutes. The more lyrical second theme, however, was notable for its glossy, Hollywood-style heavy string vibrato and luscious, unhurried wind solos[...] The symphony’s raucous last pages hurtled into the buffers with steam almost visible from the violas, concluding a hugely enjoyable performance.

    • It was Don Juan whose challenge [Chauhan] took on, opening it at an exciting pace and as con brio as could be asked, and relaxing into lyrical tenderness for the intimate episodes implied in the music's story-telling[...] Prokofiev's Fifth Symphony, the selling point of the concert's marketing line on account of its "triumphant" qualities, was given a reading that equally included its thoughtful aspect...the slow movement was both passionate and eloquently shaped, and the finale, with its chugging positivity built up to a shattering climax, had more depth to it than appeared at first - an insightful presentation.

  • BBC Philharmonic: Clyne, Shostakovich, Strauss

    Bridgewater Hall, Manchester, UK
    Nov 2024

    • After a pause for breath, Strauss' Ein Heldenleben blew away the post-Stalin storm clouds with all the macho swagger one could hope for[...] The lusciously lavish orchestral writing was realised with a gleaming glow and the hero's battle with his critics was suitably monumental. Chauhan paced the dying light of the coda to perfection, the world-weary hero taking his leave from life with quietly stately dignity.

    • In Chauhan's hands the hero's life story began with swagger and panache and rarely let up, measured out in clear and generous portions and the excitement under firm control. There was a palpable sense of struggle and of triumph over the "adversaries" in the end.[...] The end of the piece was rich, warm and lovely. Peace can, after all, be triumphant.

  • BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra: Bruckner

    Glasshouse, Gatesehead, UK
    Mar 2024

    • ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Chauhan conducted the opening of [Bruckner’s 9th Symphony] with a sense of shuddering darkness, but by the time they reached the slow movement, via a hammer-blow Scherzo, the musicians of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra had created a vision of magisterial transcendence.

  • Orchestra del Teatro La Fenice: Mendelssohn, Milhaud, Farrenc, Schumann

    Teatro Malibran, Venice, Italy
    Jan 2025

    • Brilliant, energetic, authoritative - as in his previous concerts at Teatro La Fenice - was the performance offered by the British conductor…who despite his young age, has already established himself on the international scene, thanks to his exceptional musical talent. Chauhan’s interpretative finesse was appreciated to its fullest in Mendelssohn’s Calm Sea & Prosperous Voyage [with the Orchestra dal Teatro La Fenice][…] The performance of [Schumann’s 3rd Symphony] was truly extraordinary, confirming the perfect symbiosis between the orchestra and the conductor, who were able to render, in particular, the richness of colours and emotional atmospheres contained within[…] Thunderous applause celebrated both conductor and orchestra at the end of the evening.

  • Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra: Elgar, Liszt, Brahms

    Lighthouse, Poole, UK
    Apr 2025

    • ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ An evening of exceptional performances from Chauhan, Kolesnikov and the [Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra[...} .. and from [Elgar's In the South's] imperious opening bars, bravura and grandeur were vividly presented here with a fierce intensity, incisive brass and plush string tone adding to Chauhan’s richly conceived and detailed performance...Altogether, an involving and superbly compelling account with belligerent and elegiac elements perfectly reconciled[...] This account [of Brahms' 2nd Symphony] underlined the work’s sweeping lyricism, yet was not without muscular unrest, as if Liszt and even Elgar were looking over Chauhan’s shoulder. The opening movement was a clear-sighted conception, climaxes nicely integrated within a satisfying emotional trajectory. Cellos caught the ear in the noble Adagio, the movement’s fresh-air quality neatly etched, while the third movement was imbued with elfin gaiety and Viennese charm. From here it was headlong into a spirited Finale that was both light on its feet and authoritative. And with an intuitive grip on its cumulative momentum, Chauhan propelled the movement towards a grandstand finish, those pealing trombones ringing out magnificently.

  • Seattle Symphony Orchestra: Brahms, Bach, Lutoslawski

    Benaroya Hall, S Mark Taper Auditorium, Seattle, US
    Oct 2022

    • It’s safe to say that Alpesh Chauhan, making his [Seattle Symphony Orchestra] debut at the podium, was a new discovery for most of those present. He led a program of Brahms and Lutosławski that remained gripping throughout and, at times, revelatory[…] To judge by the musicians’ responsiveness and rapt involvement throughout the evening, Chauhan was able to establish a rapport with the SSO that made it sound as if they had been performing together for some time…the collaboration with Hilary Hahn was a genuine partnership, conductor and soloist sharing a tendency to emphasize the sweeping grandeur and spaciousness of the first movement in particular[…] Chauhan reveled in [Lutoslawski’s Concerto for Orchestra’s] score’s contrasts between feather-light, misterioso whisperings and aggressive tutti driven by the brass. The rapturous applause that erupted prompted the conductor to single out every section of the orchestra for praise before taking his own bow.

Discography