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’.

Annelien’s concerto engagements for the 2022/23 season include performances with the NDR Radiophilharmonie Hannover under the baton of Andrew Manze, debuts with the Residentie Orchestra, the Frankfurter Opern- und Museumsorchester and the Orchestre de Cannes. Further ahead she will return to the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra and the Deutsche Radiophilharmonie.

She has performed with orchestras including the Deutsches Symphonieorchester Berlin, Konzerthausorchester Berlin, NDR Radiophilharmonie, 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, and many of the BBC Symphonic and Philharmonic Orchestras; with conductors including Andrew Manze, Martyn Brabbins, Joshua Weilerstein, James MacMillan, Rafael Payare, Clemens Schuldt, Markus Stenz, Thomas Dausgaard, 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, Alte Oper Frankfurt, Amare the Hague, 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.

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 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 2022. Future concerto collaborations and premieres are planned with Guillaume Connesson and Karol Beffa.

Annelien records exclusively for Pentatone; her debut album Belle époque with the Orchestre National de Lille conducted by Alexandre Bloch was released in 2019. Her latest concerto recording ‘FLOW’ with the NDR Radiophilharmonie under Andrew Manze contains basset clarinet concerti by Mozart and Henderickx and was released in 2022.

An inspired chamber musician, Annelien is the founder of Brussels-based CAROUSEL Chamber Music Ensemble. Formed in 2019, the group brings together twelve international exceptional musicians with the aim of performing existing and new chamber music at the highest level.  The ensemble’s chamber music engagements for the 2022/23 season include debuts in the Bijloke Gent, Vereeniging Nijmegen, Philharmonie Luxembourg and Wigmore Hall London.

In 2021 Annelien co-founded the woodwind quintet BREEZE. The quintet unites five young distinguished wind players from the CAROUSEL Chamber Music Ensemble.

Further chamber music partners include Pavel Kolesnikov, Paloma Kouider, Cédric Tiberghien, Severin von Eckardstein, Victor Julien-Laferrière, Amihai Grosz, Tabea Zimmermann, Quatuor Danel, Schumann Quartet, Quatuor Van Kuijk, Aris Quartet, Zemlinsky Quartet, Trio Karenine and Amatis Trio.

Annelien will return to the Heidelberger Frühling Festival in 2023 with pianist Paloma Kouider. Their recital program FRagrANCE contains flowery, harmonious and radiant french repertoire. The renowned Amsterdam based live-perfumer Erich Bergmann, aka Odo7, transforms their music live into a multi-sensory concert experience with scent.

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 classes with her mentor 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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