About

“Her playing has abundant

warmth and lyricism,

allied to a sinuous vocal quality.” 

– Classical Source

Belgian clarinettist Annelien Van Wauwe is one of the most captivating and original soloists of her generation. She knows how to enchant her audience with her expressive, lyrical and virtuoso 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. 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 2024/25 season includes debuts with the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra under Martyn Brabbins, the Sichuan Symphony Orchestra under Darrell Ang and the Jena Philharmonic.

She has performed with many leading orchestras, including the Deutsches Symphonieorchester Berlin, the Konzerthausorchester Berlin, the NDR Radiophilharmonie Hannover, the Symphony
Orchestra of the Bayerischer Rundfunk, the Radiosymphonieorchester (SWR) Stuttgart, the Deutsche Radiophilharmonie, the Frankfurter Opern- und Museumsorchester, the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, OFUNAM Mexico, the Wroclaw Philharmonic Orchestra, the Kyiv Philharmonic Orchestra, the Dresden Philharmonic, the Robert Schumann Philharmonie, the Mozarteumorchester Salzburg, Brussels Philharmonic, Antwerp Symphony Orchestra, the Residentie Orchestra the Hague, Phion Orkest van Gelderland & Overijssel, Philharmonie Zuid-Nederland, the Orchestre de Cannes, the Orchestre National de Lille, the Orchestre de Lorraine, the Munich Chamber Orchestra, the Vienna Chamber Orchestra, Camerata Salzburg, the Swedish Chamber Orchestra, Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic Liverpool and the many BBC Orchestras (BBCSO, BBCNOW, BBCSSO, BBC Philharmnonic, BBC Concert Orchestra); with conductors such as Andrew Manze, 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, Kristiina Poska, Karina Canellakis, Edo de Waart and Dirk Brossé.

Annelien has appeared regularly at prestigious European venues including the Tonhalle Zurich, the Berliner Philharmonie and Konzerthaus Berlin, the Konzerthaus in Vienna, the Wigmore Hall London, Bozar Brussels, the Philharmonie Luxembourg, the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, the Alte Oper Frankfurt, Amare the Hague, the Doelen Rotterdam, the Muziekgebouw Eindhoven, the Rudolfinum Prague and the Palace of Arts Budapest. She is a regular guest at international music festivals such as the Lucerne Festival, Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, Rheingau Festival, Heidelberger Frühling, Kissinger Sommer, Cheltenham Festival, West Cork Chamber Music Festival and the Festival de Radio France in Montpellier.

In 2017, Annelien made her debut at the BBC Proms at Cadogan Hall and in 2018, BBC television filmed her performance of Mozart’s clarinet concerto with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and conductor Thomas Dausgaard at the BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall. In 2023, she played Copland’s Concerto there with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales conducted by Ryan Bancroft.

Annelien’s infectious passion and interest in new music have inspired several composers to write music for her. In 2017, Manfred Trojahn dedicated his Sonata V to her. Annelien practices yoga intensively, which strongly influences her clarinet playing and eventually led to a composition commission for Wim Henderickx. The new piece SUTRA is based on breathing and meditation. It was co-commissioned by BBC Radio 3 and the Borletti-Buitoni Trust. The concerto was premiered in 2022 with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra conducted by Martyn Brabbins. Future collaborations and premieres of clarinet concertos are planned with Benjamin Attahir (Orchestre National d’Ile de France / Philharmonie de Paris) and Annelies Van Parys.

Annelien Van Wauwe records exclusively for the Pentatone label. Her first album ‘Belle époque’ with the Orchestre National de Lille conducted by conductor Alexandre Bloch, was released in 2019 and won an Opus Klassik in 2020. 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 founder of the Belgian-based chamber music ensemble CAROUSEL, which came into being in 2019. Highlights of the ensemble include concerts at the Bijloke Ghent, the Singel Antwerp, the Concertgebouw Brugge, the Vereeniging Nijmegen, the Philharmonie de Luxembourg, the Beethovenfest Bonn and the Wigmore Hall London. In 2021, Annelien founded the woodwind quintet BREEZE together with the four woodwind members of CAROUSEL.

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

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

As a sought-after pedagogue, Annelien regularly gives masterclasses and teaches at the Royal Conservatoire The Hague.

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