“Her playing has abundant
warmth and lyricism,
allied to a sinuous vocal quality.”
– Classical Source
Belgian clarinettist Annelien Van Wauwe highlights the clarinet as a solo instrument on the international stage. 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. She won a Borletti-Buitoni Trust Award in 2018 and an Opus Klassik Award in 2020 with her debut album ‘Belle époque’ (Pentatone).
Annelien’s concerto engagements for the 2026/27 season include debuts with the Symphony Orchestra of India, the Hankyung Philharmonic, the Saarländisches Staatsorchester, the Jenaer Philharmonie at the Konzerthaus Dortmund, the Hofer Symphoniker, the Rzeszów Philharmonic, the Kyiv Symphony Orchestra and she tours with the Schleswig-Holsteinisches Sinfonieorchester and the Orchestre National d’Île-de-France, marking her debut at the Philharmonie de Paris with the premiere of Benjamin Attahir’s Love is Louder (a concerto for clarinet, perfumer, and orchestra), written for and dedicated to her.
In the 2027/28 season, Annelien Van Wauwe will serve as Artist in Residence of the Belgian National Orchestra at BOZAR, presenting several concerto performances alongside chamber music projects and masterclasses.
Annelien Van Wauwe records exclusively for the Pentatone label. Her debut album Belle époque with the Orchestre National de Lille and conductor Alexandre Bloch was released in 2019 and received an Opus Klassik Award in 2020. Her concerto recording FLOW with the NDR Radiophilharmonie under Andrew Manze features basset clarinet concerti by Mozart and Wim Henderickx and was released in 2022. Her next album, featuring concertos by Aaron Copland and Gerald Finzi with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra under Nicolò Foron, will be released in February 2027 on Pentatone.
She has performed with leading orchestras and conductors worldwide, including the Deutsches Symphonieorchester Berlin, the Konzerthausorchester Berlin, the NDR Radiophilharmonie Hannover, the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, the Radiosymphonieorchester (SWR) Stuttgart, the Deutsche Radiophilharmonie, the Dresdner Philharmonic, the Frankfurt Opera and Museum Orchestra, the Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg, the Residentie Orchestra Den Haag, the Dutch Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, the PHION Orkest van Gelderland & Overijssel, the Philharmonie Zuid-Nederland, Brussels Philharmonic, the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestre de Cannes, the Orchestre National de Lille, the Orchestre de Lorraine, the Kyiv Symphony Orchestra, NOSPR Katowice, NFM Wrocław Philharmonic, Szczecin Philharmonic, the Liepāja Symphony Orchestra, the Malmö Symphony Orchestra, the Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra, OFUNAM Mexico, the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, the Symphony Orchestra of India, the Sichuan Symphony Orchestra, the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, the Münchner Kammerorchester, the Wiener Kammerorchester, the Zürcher Kammerorchester, the Swedish Chamber Orchestra, the Salzburg Camerata, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, and the many BBC Orchestras (BBCSO, BBCNOW, BBCSSO, BBC Philharmonic, BBC Concert Orchestra); with conductors such as Andrew Manze, Vasily Petrenko, Martyn Brabbins, Joshua Weilerstein, Jac Van Steen, Michael Schønwandt, Jun Märkl, James MacMillan, Mario Venzago, Darrell Ang, Finnegan Downie Dear, Ryan Bancroft, Rafael Payare, Clemens Schuldt, Markus Stenz, Nuno Coelho, Thomas Dausgaard, Hartmut Haenchen, Otto Tausk, Marta Gardolińska, Anja Bihlmaier, Emilia Hoving, Kristiina Poska, Karina Canellakis, Edo de Waart and Dirk Brossé.
