Simon Murphy
Music Director, Conductor, and Violist in Den Haag, Nederland
Simon Murphy
Music Director, Conductor, and Violist in Den Haag, Nederland
Simon Murphy (Sydney, 1973) is an international award winning Dutch-based Australian orchestral conductor with a special focus on music of the 18th and early 19th centuries. He is the founding music director of The Hague's Baroque Orchestra, The New Dutch Academy.
Praised as "a musician with "guts"" by the Netherlands' De Volkskrant and "a repertoire-refresher" by France's Diapason, Murphy has won much international recognition for his dynamic, engaging and insightful performances of established orchestral repertoire as well as for his pioneering work in bringing new, rediscovered masterworks to life on the concert platform and on disc.
He is a world authority on the early, classical symphony, with his discography including world première presentations of the works of 18th century symphonists Stamitz, Richter, Schmitt ("The Dutch Haydn"), Graaf and Zappa (PentaTone Classics). Murphy's groundbreaking, 2003 recording of Corelli's Concerti Grossi was voted a top 5 highlight of the 30 year history of the Holland Festival of Early Music Utrecht.
Recent conducting highlights in the Netherlands have included cycles of Stamitz, Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven and Mendelssohn symphonies for Het Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Rotterdam's De Doelen and The Hague's Philipszaal. European festival highlights have included productions for the Händel Festspiele Halle, Bachfest Leipzig, Thüringer Bachwochen, Potsdam Musikfestspiele and the Festival van Vlaanderen.
International concert touring has taken Murphy through Europe, the U.S., Canada, Russia, Asia and Australia, with broadcasts for the NTR, RNW, EBU, DLF, HR, MDR, RAI and ABC.
"Murphy is a musician with "guts": a conductor with the passion and conviction of a born missionary" De Volkskrant
"The repertoire-refresher, conductor Simon Murphy radiates joie de vivre. His interpretation distinguishes itself by its enthusiasm and his approach possesses a classic élan, displaying delicate sensitivity. 5 stars!" Diapason
"Simon Murphy is clearly a conductor to watch for." American Record Guide
"The hottest property on the European baroque scene" The Australian
"the best of both worlds" BBC Music Magazine
"engaging, energising and vibrant" Alte Musik Aktuell
"18th century rock 'n roll" Luister