He is a conductor born in Liverpool, England,who took music lessons in the piano and violin although choosing to play percussion in orchestras.
He studied at the Liverpool University before moving to the Royal Academy of Music in London and in his graduation year of 1974 he won the John Player Conductor Competition and was made the assistant conductor of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra.
In 1977 he moved into the same position at the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
From 1980 to 1998 he was the conductor of the Birmingham Symphony Orchestra which is when he achieved much international acclaim and was responsible for making the orchestra among the most famous in Britain.
In 1999 he became the successor of Claudio Abbado at the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. One of the things he did for the members when he joined was to give them a wage rise and make the orchestra into a foundation whereby they have more say in the matters that go on, rather than the government. Before he left for Germany he attacked the poor state of funding in the UK and their attitude to culture in general.
In 1987 he was awarded a CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) and in 1994 he became a Knight Bachelor.
City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra recordings
Harmonielehre (John Coolidge Adams)
EMI 55051 (CD: John Adams: Harmonielehre)
Short Ride in a Fast Machine (John Coolidge Adams)
EMI CDC 5 55051 2 (CD: John Adams: Harmonielehre)
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