Richard Egarr, the British conductor, harpsichordist and organist who currently leads the Academy of Ancient Music, has been named to succeed Nicholas McGegan as music director of the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra at the beginning of the 2020-21 season.
Egarr will be only the second music director in the nearly 40-year history of the renowned Bay Area period instrument ensemble. When McGegansteps downin 2020, he will have been at the helm of the orchestra for 35 years.
Egarr has been a guest conductor with Philharmonia three times — most recently in March 2018, when he led the orchestra from the organ in a program of music by Handel, Corelli and Muffat.
“In the course of performing with the orchestra, I’ve been amazed at the freshness, the energy and the willingness to try new things,” he said in a phone interview with The Chronicle. “I’m delighted to have the chance to build on the good work Nic has done.”
Egarr, 55, lives in Amsterdam with his wife, the keyboardist Alexandra Nepomnyashchaya – with whom he has made several recordings of four-hands music – and their two daughters, ages 1½ and 4 months. In addition to his position with the Academy, which he will give up at the end of the 2020-21 season, he holds conducting posts with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra in Minnesota and the Residentie Orkest The Hague.
Asked about his plans for Philharmonia, Egarr proclaimed himself a “musical omnivore,” eager to explore a wide range of repertoire even beyond the orchestra’s traditional terrain of the 18th and early 19th centuries.
“People love to categorize you and put you in a box, but the truth is that I’ve never stopped being interested in all sorts of music. That includes some of the music that Nic has done here, such as Brahms or even commissioning new works.
“I’m hoping to do repertoire that the orchestra hasn’t done yet, including by the Romantics, as well as Baroque pieces that haven’t been done all that much. I think there’s still a lot to learn even in music from the Classical period.”
He’s even dreaming of a possible collaboration with Björk. “I can imagine her doing some early repertoire really well.”