Daniel Harding facts for kids
Daniel John Harding (born August 31, 1975) is a famous British conductor. He is also a licensed airplane pilot! He has led many of the world's top orchestras. He is known for his energy and talent, even though he never had formal conducting lessons.
Biography
Daniel Harding was born in Oxford, England. He started playing music at a young age. He studied the trumpet at Chetham's School of Music. By age 13, he was already a member of the National Youth Orchestra.
When he was 17, Harding put together a group of musicians. They performed a piece by Arnold Schoenberg. He sent a recording of this performance to the famous conductor Simon Rattle. Rattle was very impressed. He hired Harding as his assistant for a year, from 1993 to 1994.
After attending University of Cambridge for a year, another great conductor, Claudio Abbado, chose Harding as his assistant. This time it was with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. Harding first conducted the Berlin Philharmonic when he was only 21 years old. In 1996, he became the youngest conductor ever to appear at The Proms music festival. Harding has shared that he never had formal conducting lessons.
Harding has worked with many important orchestras around the world. He was the music director for the Trondheim Symphony Orchestra (1997–2000). He also led the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen (1999–2003). From 2003 to 2008, he was the music director of the Mahler Chamber Orchestra. He is now an honorary conductor with them.
In 2005, he conducted the opening night at La Scala in Milan, Italy. This is a very famous opera house. In 2004, he became the main guest conductor for the London Symphony Orchestra (LSO). With the LSO, he recorded an opera called Billy Budd.
He became the Principal Conductor of the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra in 2007. He has extended his contract with them several times, most recently through 2025. He will finish his time with them at the end of the 2024–2025 season. In 2015, he was also named the main conductor for the Orchestre de Paris in France. He finished his work with them in 2019.
Outside of Europe, Harding became a music partner of the New Japan Philharmonic in 2010. He also became the artistic director of the Ohga Hall in Karuizawa, Japan, in 2012. In 2021, he conducted the annual Vienna Philharmonic Summer Night Concert. He was the first British conductor to lead this special event. In 2023, he was named the next music director for the Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Italy. He will start this role in the 2024–2025 season.
Memberships
Daniel Harding is a foreign member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music. This is a special honor.
Personal life
Daniel Harding has two children, Adele and George. He is a big fan of the football club Manchester United.
Besides conducting, Harding is also a licensed airline pilot. In 2019, he announced he wanted to take a break from music to fly commercial planes for Air France. However, these plans were delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, he was given the title of Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE). This award recognized his great contributions to music.
