Hugh Wolff, one of the few American conductors to enjoy a truly international reputation, has become especially renowned for his advocacy of contemporary music. Wolff, born in Paris to American parents, received a thorough musical training; he pursued formal studies in piano, composition, and conducting, earning degrees from Harvard University and the Peabody Institute. He also had the opportunity to study composition with Olivier Messiaen and conducting with Charles Bruch in Paris.

Wolff's conducting career began in 1979, when he was appointed Exxon/Arts Endowment Conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra; he served as associate conductor of that ensemble, then led by Mstislav Rostropovich, from 1982 to 1985. During that period he also served as music director of the Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic (1981-1986), his first such appointment. In 1985 became music director of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, a post he retained until 1992. From the 1980s to the present he has also appeared frequently as a guest conductor throughout the United States and Europe, including appearances with the Czech Philharmonic, the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, the London Philharmonic, the English Chamber Orchestra, and the Israel Philharmonic.

Wolff came into new prominence through his association with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, which he led as principal conductor (1988-1991) and music director (1991-2000). During his tenure there, he recorded over 20 compact discs -- more than those of any other conductor of the SPCO -- of repertoire ranging from Vivaldi to Dvorak to Ravel to new works by young composers like Edgar Meyer. He also led the ensemble on a well-received European tour.

Between 1997 and 2006 Wolff served as chief conductor of the Radio Orchestra of Frankfurt. In 2001, his recordings of Antheil's Symphonies Nos. 1 & 6 and of Barber's and Meyer's violin concertos, with Hilary Hahn, won Cannes Classical awards.

A specialist in Italian opera, conductor Carlo Rizzi has often led lesser-known works in addition to the monuments of the genre. He also conducts non-Italian works as well as orchestral music of various kinds.

Rizzi was born in Milan on July 19, 1960. He studied at the Milan Conservatory, going on for further work with Russian-born conductor Vladimir Delman in Bologna and with Franco Ferrara at the Accademia Musicale Chigiana in Siena. Making his debut in 1982 at the helm of a production of Donizetti's rarely heard comedy L'ajo nell'Imbarazzo at the Milan Angelicum, he gained attention when he took the top prize at the inaugural Toscanini Conductors' Competition in Parma. By the late '80s, Rizzi was being seen conducting beyond Italy; he appeared at the Buxton Festival in the U.K. in 1988, and that led to invitations to conduct at Covent Garden in London and Opera North in Leeds. In 1992, he made his recording debut, leading the London Symphony Orchestra in a performance of Verdi's La Traviata on the Teldec label. Rizzi recorded for Teldec through the '90s, sometimes making appearances on Apex and other labels. In 1992, Rizzi was named music director of the Welsh National Opera. He stepped down in 2001 but returned from 2004 to 2007. During his tenure there, he learned to speak the Welsh language. Rizzi held prestigious guest engagements during this period, beginning with an appearance as guest conductor at the Metropolitan Opera in New York in 2004. Rizzi later appeared at La Scala in Milan. His recordings with the Welsh National Opera included one of Leoš Janáček's Katya Kabanova in 2007. In addition to major Italian works, Rizzi has recorded such rarities as Rossini's Ciro in Babilonia and Piccinni's La Pescatrice. On recordings, he has led orchestras backing such major stars as Edita Gruberová, Jane Eaglen, and Juan Diego Flórez. He also conducts orchestral music, and in the 2010s, he led the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra in several albums devoted to the music of Ravel. Rizzi was named music director of the Opera Rara label in 2019, and his contract there has been extended through 2026. In 2022, for that label, he led the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in a recording of Ruggero Leoncavallo's Zingari. By that time, his catalog comprised well over 50 recordings. ~ James Manheim

One of the few full-time professional chamber orchestras in the U.S., the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra has an unusual structure involving five Artistic Partners, with no permanent conductor. The group has an unusually diverse repertory ranging from the Baroque to very recent contemporary music.

The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra was founded in 1959, partly at the behest of city leaders who wanted to draw visitors downtown without competing with the Twin Cities' well-established Minnesota Orchestra. Leonard Sipe organized the group, which gave its first performance on November 18, 1959, at St. Paul's Central High School. In the 1980s, the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra moved into the acoustically notable Ordway Auditorium, but it also gives concerts at a wide variety of other venues around the Twin Cities and maintains several outreach programs. In 1968, the group became the first full-time professional chamber orchestra in the U.S., retaining that distinction until 1978. Sipe stepped down in 1972 and was replaced by Dennis Russell Davies, who initiated the orchestra's long emphasis on contemporary music. He was succeeded in 1980 by violinist and conductor Pinchas Zukerman, and in turn in 1987, by a triumvirate consisting of principal conductor Hugh Wolff, director of music Christopher Hogwood, and creative chair John Adams. Wolff became the full-time music director in 1992, but the orchestra continued to experiment with unusual leadership structures after his retirement; since 2004, it has worked with five Artistic Partners, who may be instrumentalists, conductors, or singers. These partners have been musicians of international stature, including violinist Joshua Bell (2004-2007), conductor Edo de Waart (2010-2014), and clarinetist Martin Fröst (2016-present). Since 2016, Kyu-Young Kim has served as artistic director, but there is no permanent conductor or music director. The orchestra has about 30 musicians, trimmed somewhat after a financial crisis in 2012 and 2013, but it can be expanded for larger projects. The group plays some 130 concerts annually.

The recording career of the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra dates back at least to the early 1980s when the group's LP recording of Copland's Appalachian Spring became one of the first commercially released digital recordings. During the CD era, the orchestra has recorded for CBS/Sony, Apex, and Teldec, among other labels, moving to Nonesuch in 2021 for a recording of Mozart piano concertos with Artistic Partner Jeremy Denk. ~ James Manheim

The London Philharmonic Orchestra is a central institution of the British classical concert scene, performing major repertory works, British standards, contemporary music, and more. Especially on recordings, the group has also engaged with music from beyond the classical sphere.

The London Philharmonic Orchestra was formed in 1932 in response to a consensus that London's major orchestras, lacking strong artistic leadership, were inferior to those in Germany and even the U.S. So conductor Sir Thomas Beecham assembled a crack membership of 106 players, and the new orchestra was successful from the start. Beecham steered the group through financial difficulties at the beginning of World War II before resigning for health reasons and due to conflicts over the ensemble's artistic direction. Postwar conductors included Eduard van Beinum (1947 to 1951) and Sir Adrian Boult (1951 to 1958); the latter inaugurated an active recording program, releasing albums that remain standards to this day.

In 1966, Bernard Haitink became the orchestra's principal conductor; his tenure, lasting until 1979, was longer than that of any other conductor of the group until Vladimir Jurowski. The orchestra renovated a disused church, renamed it Henry Wood Hall, and began to use the space for rehearsals and recordings in 1975. Haitink's successor was another giant, Sir Georg Solti, who served as principal conductor from 1979 to 1983 and continued as conductor emeritus afterward, often appearing and recording with the orchestra. Solti was succeeded by a trio of Germans, Klaus Tennstedt in 1983, Franz Welser-Möst in 1990, and Kurt Masur in 2000. Welser-Möst officially installed the orchestra as the resident ensemble of the Royal Festival Hall, which remains its main concert venue.

The orchestra has also had numerous guest conductors over the years, and these have been responsible for many of its crossover releases. Although not as active in this field as the London Symphony Orchestra, the London Philharmonic has made high-visibility film soundtrack recordings. These include soundtracks for such films as Jesus Christ Superstar (1973), The Fly (1986), and the trilogy The Lord of the Rings, as well as the anthology Academy Award Themes (1984). The orchestra has released albums devoted to the music of progressive rock bands Pink Floyd and Yes, and as far back as 1959, it released the album Hawaiian Paradise. In 2011, the London Philharmonic recorded 205 national anthems in preparation for the London Olympic Games of the following year. The orchestra's album releases, classical and otherwise, numbered 280 by 1997 and has increased by well over 250 albums since then; in the year 2001 alone, the orchestra released 21 albums. The London Philharmonic established its own LPO label in the mid-2000s decade and has issued large amounts of music, both classical and not, including Genius of Film Music: Hollywood Blockbusters 1980s to 2000s, in 2018.

In 2007, the London Philharmonic was in the forefront of taking advantage of the wave of talented Russian musicians who had emigrated to the West, installing Vladimir Jurowski as principal conductor. He remained in the post until 2020, becoming the orchestra's longest-serving conductor and leading the group in a 2021 recording of Mahler's Symphony No. 8 ("Symphony of a Thousand"). In 2020, Karina Canellakis became the orchestra's first female principal guest conductor. Jurowski was succeeded in 2021 by Edward Gardner, who became the group's first British principal conductor for decades. ~ James Manheim