Hanover Band

The Hanover Band is a period instrument chamber orchestra based in West Sussex, England. It attracted much attention early on for its individual performance style, which often puzzled critics and created controversy. Certain recordings, the Beethoven nine symphonies in particular, have managed to generate both awards and sharp criticism. The ensemble has made well over 100 albums, including the complete works of <a href="spotify:artist:0ebni9QrrWMvEgH40nOWZQ">Johann Christian Bach</a>, and backed associate director Andrew Arthur on a recording of J.S. Bach's Harpsichord Concertos in 2022.

Founded in London in 1980 by Caroline Brown, the Hanover Band has given concerts in a variety of locations throughout England. Its first concert took place at St. Margaret's Westminster (London) on March 26, 1980, under the direction of Marie Leonhardt. In May of that year, <a href="spotify:artist:4E2Rqf4KfXgR2aVt8FvIkh">Monica Huggett</a> was appointed music director of the Hanover Band. In 1981, <a href="spotify:artist:6ys3iraspH1pETRDE1q9IM">Roy Goodman</a> became a regular conductor, and over the years, other illustrious figures would guest conduct the group, such as <a href="spotify:artist:1iyvtzGjtuQa1I5UGpzk6l">Charles Mackerras</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:6tW7J49UTzVDW9ns4E37D1">Nicholas McGegan</a>. In 1982, the Hanover Band's first recording was issued on <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Nimbus%22">Nimbus</a> Records, an all-Beethoven release featuring <a href="spotify:artist:4E2Rqf4KfXgR2aVt8FvIkh">Huggett</a> conducting the Symphony No. 1, paired with the Piano Concerto No. 1, for which soloist Mary Verney performed on the fortepiano. This recording was the first in a set that would include all nine Beethoven symphonies issued later in the decade. On March 31, 1982, <a href="spotify:artist:1iyvtzGjtuQa1I5UGpzk6l">Mackerras</a> led the ensemble in a memorable concert of music by <a href="spotify:artist:656RXuyw7CE0dtjdPgjJV6">Haydn</a> in Westminster Abbey, marking the 250th anniversary of the composer's birth.

Over the next few years, the Hanover Band issued recordings at an increasing rate and gave numerous concerts and tours abroad. The ensemble's first tour of the U.S. came in 1985. <a href="spotify:artist:6ys3iraspH1pETRDE1q9IM">Goodman</a> was appointed principal conductor of the ensemble the following year. He led the players in many successful concerts over the years, but perhaps his greatest legacy was the completion of the Beethoven symphony cycle started by <a href="spotify:artist:4E2Rqf4KfXgR2aVt8FvIkh">Huggett</a>. <a href="spotify:artist:6ys3iraspH1pETRDE1q9IM">Goodman</a> finished the cycle in 1987, and the set received at least two major awards, the first from the Music Retailers Association (Best Box Set, 1989) and a Record of the Year Award from Fono Forum (1990). Yet many critics expressed varying degrees of disapproval of the performances, largely owing to brisk tempos and what they considered unusual phrasing. In 1994, <a href="spotify:artist:6ys3iraspH1pETRDE1q9IM">Goodman</a> stepped down as principal conductor and was succeeded by <a href="spotify:artist:2SSWdLQmVLFOZ2tTm2PqHS">Anthony Halstead</a>.

The Hanover Wind Band was formed the following year as an off-shoot of the ensemble. Its focus has been repertory from the latter half of the 19th and early 20th centuries, taking on both serious and ragtime music. In 1999, the Hanover Band launched a one-year music education project in Brighton & Hove entitled "No Beethoven, No Beat," successfully introducing young audiences to the symphonies of Beethoven. In 2001, <a href="spotify:artist:2SSWdLQmVLFOZ2tTm2PqHS">Halstead</a> and the Hanover Band completed a massive recording project they began in 1995 for the label <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22CPO%22">CPO</a> that offered the complete works of <a href="spotify:artist:0ebni9QrrWMvEgH40nOWZQ">Johann Christian Bach</a> on 22 discs. Paul Brough served as the principal conductor from 2007 to 2010. Brown remained artistic director until late in her life, leading the group on a tour in China in 2017. She died of cancer on February 5, 2018. The Hanover Band and guests performed <a href="spotify:artist:4NJhFmfw43RLBLjQvxDuRS">Mozart</a>'s Requiem at her memorial in June of that year. Andrew Arthur and Benjamin Bayl are the group's associate directors as of the early 2020s. In 2022, Arthur directed the Hanover Band from the keyboard in a recording of J.S. Bach's Harpsichord Concertos on the <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Signum+Classics%22">Signum Classics</a> label. ~ Robert Cummings & Keith Finke, Rovi