Alun Francis (born 29 September 1943) is a Wales conductor.
Career
Francis was the principal conductor of the
Ulster Orchestra from 1966 for ten years. In 1978 he conducted the premiere of Donizetti's opera
Gabriella di Vergy in the Queen Elizabeth Hall in
London.
From 1979 to 1985 he was Music director of the Northwest Chamber Orchestra in Seattle, then he was artistic counselor of the ensembles Opera Forum in Enschede.
From 1987 to 1990 he was Generalmusikdirektor of the Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie.
Discography
Francis recorded works of
Francis Poulenc, symphonies and symphonic works of
Otto Klemperer with the Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz, and symphonies of
Allan Pettersson with different orchestras, among others. In 1980 he recorded Offenbach's
operetta Robinson Crusoé with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. In 2000 he was awarded the first prize of the Cannes Classical Award in the category CD premiere for his recording of the complete symphonies of
Darius Milhaud with the Sinfonieorchester Basel. He conducted a recording of
Carl Reinecke's four piano concertos with pianist
Klaus Hellwig and the Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie.
He is the only conductor to have recorded – with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra for the CPO label – all five symphonies by the English composer
Humphrey Searle.
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