Edward Gardner

Edward Gardner has been Principal Conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra since September 2021, recently extending his contract until at least 2028.

In August 2024 he became Music Director of the Norwegian Opera and Ballet, having been Artistic Advisor since 2022. He is also Honorary Conductor of the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, following his tenure as Chief Conductor.

2025/26 with the LPO

In 2025/26 – his fifth season as Principal Conductor – Ed conducts ten LPO concerts at the Royal Festival Hall. Highlights include Mahler’s Symphony No. 4, Brahms’s Symphony No. 4 alongside the composer’s Tragic Overture, and Rachmaninov’s Symphony No. 3. He will also lead the London Philharmonic Choir and BBC Symphony Chorus in John Adams’s Harmonium, alongside Beethoven’s Violin Concerto performed by James Ehnes. Another standout programme includes Mark-Anthony Turnage’s Three Screaming Popes, Bartók’s Violin Concerto No. 1 featuring Alina Ibragimova, and Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition.

On 26 November 2025, Ed will take to the podium for a very special concert dedicated to The Duke of Kent on the occasion of his 90th birthday and the 45th anniversary of his Patronage of the LPO. Supported by the Elgar Society, this concert presents four pieces from one of Britain’s greatest composers.

In February 2026, Ed presents Phoenix Lands, a celebration of 20th-century Central European music. The first concert, on 4 February 2026, spotlights works by Bacewicz, Martinů, Lutosławski and Janáček. This is complemented by a second concert on 7 February which centres around Bartók’s The Wooden Prince and also includes work by Kaprálová and Szymanowski.

Recordings and TV

Edward Gardner’s recording on the LPO’s own label of Tippett’s The Midsummer Marriage, captured live at his first concert as Principal Conductor in 2021, won a 2023 Gramophone Award for Best Opera Recording. February 2024 saw the release of Berlioz’s The Damnation of Faust, recorded in concert in February 2023. A second Tippett disc was released in November 2024, and a Rachmaninov release will follow in May 2025. Planned for later this year are further albums of works by Dvořák, Schumann and Britten.

In spring 2024 Ed and the LPO were the subject of a behind-the-scenes TV documentary series on Sky Arts: ‘Backstage with the London Philharmonic Orchestra’, which has been nominated for a 2025 BAFTA Award and is still available to watch on Now TV.

Supporting young talent

A passionate supporter of young talent, Edward Gardner founded the Hallé Youth Orchestra in 2002 and regularly conducts the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain. He has a close relationship with The Juilliard School of Music, and with the Royal Academy of Music who appointed him their inaugural Sir Charles Mackerras Conducting Chair in 2014.

Background

Born in Gloucester in 1974, Edward Gardner was educated at the University of Cambridge and the Royal Academy of Music. He went on to become Assistant Conductor of the Hallé and Music Director of Glyndebourne Touring Opera. His many accolades include being named Royal Philharmonic Society Award Conductor of the Year (2008), an Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in Opera (2009) and an OBE for Services to Music in The Queen’s Birthday Honours (2012).

Edward Gardner’s position at the LPO is generously supported by Aud Jebsen.