About

“Her playing has abundant

warmth and lyricism,

allied to a sinuous vocal quality.” 

– Classical Source

Belgian clarinettist Annelien Van Wauwe is forging a reputation as one of the most exciting and original clarinettists of her generation, captivating audiences with her expressive, intense and lyrical performances.

A former BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist, Annelien has won numerous international competitions. Her joint Second Prize award at the ARD International Music Competition in Munich in 2012 was a decisive step towards international recognition. In 2018, she won a Borletti-Buitoni Trust Award. Annelien Van Wauwe was awarded an Opus Klassik as Best Young Artist 2020 for her Pentatone album ‘Belle Epoque’.

She has performed with orchestras including the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Konzerthausorchester Berlin, Bavarian Radio Symphony, SWR Symphony Orchestra Stuttgart, the Munich Chamber Orchestra, Vienna Chamber Orchestra, Mozarteum Orchester Salzburg, Brussels Philharmonic, Antwerp Symphony, Swedish Chamber Orchestra, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, andmany of the BBC Symphonic and Philharmonic Orchestras; with conductors including Andrew Manze, Joshua Weilerstein, James MacMillan, Rafael Payare, Clemens Schuldt, Markus Stenz, Hartmut Haenchen, Otto Tausk, Marta Gardolińska, Kristiina Poska, Karina Canellakis, Edo de Waart and Dirk Brossé.

Annelien has appeared at prestigious venues including the Tonhalle Zürich, Berliner Philharmonie and Konzerthaus Berlin, Konzerthaus Vienna, Wigmore Hall,  BOZAR in Brussels, Philharmonie Luxembourg, Amsterdam Concertgebouw, De Doelen Rotterdam, Muziekgebouw Eindhoven, Rudolfinum Concert Hall in Prague, and Palace of Arts in Budapest. She is a regular guest at international festivals such as the Lucerne Festival, Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, Kissinger Sommer, Cheltenham Festival, West Cork Chamber Music Festival and the Festival de Radio France in Montpellier.

In 2017, Annelien made her BBC Proms debut at Cadogan Hall and in 2018, she performed Mozart Clarinet Concerto with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and Thomas Dausgaard in a televised Prom from the Royal Albert Hall.

She records exclusively for Pentatone; her debut album Belle époque with the Orchestre National de Lille conducted by Alexandre Bloch was released in 2019. Previous recordings include a CD of Weinberg and Prokofiev with pianist Lucas Blondeel, released on Genuin Classics in 2015; the album received rave reviews and won Annelien a Klara Award for Young Talent of the Year from the Flemish Radio.

An inspired chamber musician, Annelien is the founder of Brussels-based CAROUSEL Chamber Music Ensemble. Formed in 2018, the group brings together eleven international exceptional musicians with the aim of performing existing and new chamber music at the highest level. In 2021 she founded the woodwind quintet BREEZE. Further chamber music partners include Pavel Kolesnikov, Cédric Tiberghien, Severin von Eckardstein, Victor Julien-Laferrière, Amihai Grosz, Tabea Zimmermann, Quatuor Danel, Schumann Quartet, Aris Quartet and Amatis Trio.

Annelien’s infectious passion and interest in new music have inspired composers to write for her – in 2017, Manfred Trojahn dedicated his Sonata V to Annelien. Her intensive practice of yoga, with its positive influence on her clarinet playing, led her to become a certified yoga teacher and to commission SUTRA, a concerto for clarinet, orchestra and electronics from Wim Henderickx. The new work is based on breath and meditation, and it was co-commissioned by BBC Radio 3 and the Borletti-Buitoni Trust. The concerto was premiered with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra under Martyn Brabbins in March 2022 and was recorded – with Mozart’s clarinet concerto – for Pentatone with the NDR Radiophilharmonie Hannover under Andrew Manze. The Pentatone album ‘FLOW’ containing both concerti was released in March 2022. 

She originally studied with Sabine Meyer in Lübeck, Pascal Moragues in Paris, Alessandro Carbonare in Rome and Wenzel Fuchs and Ralf Forster in Berlin. She has also participated in masterclasses with Yehuda Gilad. Annelien has a strong affinity for early music and studied historical clarinet with Eric Hoeprich and Ernst Schlader.

She regularly gives masterclasses and teaches at the Royal Conservatoire The Hague.

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