Howard Arman

Howard Arman, born in London in 1954, trained at Trinity College of Music and built an early conducting career in Britain, appearing with domestic ensembles and at festivals across Europe. In 1981 he relocated to Austria, where his work centered more on German- and Austrian-speaking territories than on his homeland, concentrating on choral repertoire and opera. That shift brought rapid momentum: he soon directed choirs attached to several German and Austrian radio organizations. In 1983 he established the Salzburger Bach-Chor, remaining its conductor through 2000. He also served as rehearsal director for the Tölzer Knabenchor during its recording of Bach’s Mass in B minor, BWV 232, with the Taverner Consort led by Andrew Parrott. A second ensemble, the Innsbrucker Capellknaben, followed in 1991.

Arman played a central role in shaping the Handel Festival Orchestra in Halle, Germany. In 1996 he received the Handel Music Prize there and conducted the composer’s seldom-heard Tolomeo; ten years later he returned to lead Admeto. His operatic interests broadened beyond Handel, leading to a sustained connection with Lucerne, Switzerland, where he conducted Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro in 2010 and has headed the Luzerner Sinfonieorchester since that year. He continued to direct large-scale choral projects, among them Rachmaninov’s All-Night Vigil with the MDR-Rundfunkchor.

His extensive discography emphasizes Baroque, Classical, and Romantic choral works. Appointed director of the Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks in 2017, he moved swiftly into the studio, issuing multiple albums on the BR Klassik label, including the 2018 Christmas anthology Joy to the World. Earlier recordings had appeared on MDR, Capriccio, and additional imprints. By early 2021 he had already released two further albums with the Bavarian choir—one devoted to Edward Elgar partsongs, the other to Arvo Pärt’s Miserere. Arman has also taught at the Salzburg Mozarteum.