The Academy of St Martin in the Fields (ASMF) is delighted to share and celebrate the appointment of Richard Harwood as the orchestra’s Principal Cello.
Cellist Richard Harwood performing with ASMF. Photocredit Richard Lea-Hair.
Following a competitive audition and trial process overseen by a panel of ASMF musicians, Music Director Joshua Bell, and Director/Leader Tomo Keller, Richard was appointed in October 2024. As Principal Cello, Richard will play with the orchestra for the majority of the more than 85 performances that ASMF gives around the world each year, as well as with the renowned ASMF Chamber Ensemble.
As concerto soloist, Richard has worked with conductors such as Mark Wigglesworth, Vasily Petrenko, Case Scaglione, Stanislav Kochanovsky, Okko Kamu, and Yehudi Menuhin, and with numerous orchestras including The Philharmonia, RTÉ NSO, Auckland Philharmonia and Ural Philharmonic. As chamber musician, he has collaborated with the Jerusalem and Endellion Quartets, Joshua Bell, Gidon Kremer, Yuri Bashmet, Olivier Charlier, Benjamin Schmid, Alena Baeva, Murray Perahia, Martin Roscoe, Peter Donohoe and Julius Drake, among others.
Richard’s discography includes a debut disc (EMI Classics) with pianist Christoph Berner, Composing Without The Picture (Resonus); a solo album of concert works written by film composers, Christopher Gunning’s Cello Concerto and Beethoven’s Triple Concerto, both on Signum and with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. He is regularly featured as a soloist on movie soundtracks, one of the most prominent being Patrick Doyle’s score to Kenneth Branagh’s Murder On The Orient Express.
Richard was previously principal of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (2018-2024) and a principal of the John Wilson Orchestra, and regularly appears as a guest principal at the Royal Opera House, London Symphony, London Philharmonic, BBC Symphony, BBC NOW and RTÉ Concert orchestras. Richard was appointed professor of cello at London’s Royal College of Music in September 2024. He plays a cello by Francesco Rugeri, dated 1692.
On his appointment, Richard Harwood said: “I couldn’t be more delighted to be joining the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields. It’s a chamber orchestra I grew up listening to, not least when I was a student of Heinrich Schiff, who recorded the Haydn Concerti with the ASMF and Neville Marriner. It wasn’t until my trial started that I had the opportunity to play as part of the orchestra and what a dream that was. There’s such a commitment to chamber music within the ensemble which makes for such exciting music-making whether under the direction of Joshua Bell or Tomo Keller. What makes the Academy so special are its members and I have already enjoyed so many musical interactions with them throughout my trial. Highlights must include Schumann’s second Symphony with Joshua, the Beethoven Septet with the ASMF Chamber Ensemble, Bartok’s Divertimento with Julia Fischer and Schumann’s Piano Quintet with Murray Perahia at the Wigmore Hall. I am so much looking forward to being a part of the ASMF family and I can’t wait for the next concerts together!“
Joshua Bell, ASMF Music Director, said: “I have greatly enjoyed making music with Richard Harwood during the appointment process for the important position of principal cello in our orchestra. As a soloist, chamber musician and orchestral player, Richard embodies the engaging and dynamic way for which the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields strives, and I eagerly look forward to Richard’s contributions on the upcoming tours in the U.K. and around the world.”
Lynda Houghton, ASMF Principal Double Bass and member of the appointment panel, said: “I am thrilled that Richard Harwood is joining the Academy of St Martin in the Fields as principal cello. He is an exceptional player whose experience as a soloist, chamber player and orchestral principal makes him ideally suited for his new position.”