Mark Van de Wiel

Mark van de Wiel is long established as one of our leading clarinettists, appearing at major venues as a well-known soloist and chamber musician. Principal clarinet of the Philharmonia from 2000 to 2025, Mark is principal of the London Sinfonietta (since 2002) and previously of Welsh National Opera, the London Chamber Orchestra and Endymion. He has appeared as soloist with the Philharmonia (under conductors such as Santtu-Matias Rouvali, Vladimir Ashkenazy,  Edward Gardner and John Wilson), the London Sinfonietta, and the LCO (including a solo appearance at La Scala, Milan).  Noted for performances of contemporary music, Mark gave the world premiere of Joseph Phibbs’s Clarinet Concerto which he jointly commissioned with the Philharmonia and Malmö Live Konserthus. Mark also performed the premiere of the Van der Aa concerto, Hysteresis, commissioned for him by the London Sinfonietta, among many other world and national premieres. He has played Boulez’s Domaines at the Proms and Berio’s Sequenza in the Sydney Opera House. Chamber music collaborators have included Vladimir Ashkenazy, Elizabeth Leonskaja, the Dante Quartet, and the Brodsky Quartet.  Recordings include the Nielsen Concerto with the Philharmonia and Paavo Järvi, the Joseph Phibbs and Mozart Concertos with the Philharmonia, LCO and Christopher Warren-Green, and Bartok’s Contrasts with Zsolt-Tihamer Visontay and Yefim Bronfman on Signum.  Jonathan Dove’s new clarinet concerto “Rainbow”, jointly commissioned by Mark and the Philharmonia, will be released by Signum as part of a clarinet concerto album under Santtu. Mark’s forthcoming Signum releases also include an album of Mozart and Joseph Phibbs (a new clarinet quintet jointly commissioned with Jouko Heikura) with the Brodsky Quartet, and a Peter Maxwell Davies clarinet album with the London Sinfonietta.  Mark is an Honorary Member of the Royal Academy of Music, where he is a Professor, and has been awarded an Honorary Doctorate by Northampton University.