Adès, Thomas (1971– )

English pianist, composer, and conductor. His compositions, known for their rich layering of sound and blend of styles, include the orchestral works Asyla (1997) and Tevot (2007), both premiered by conductor Simon Rattle, and the operas Powder Her Face (1995), based on the scandalous life of Margaret, Duchess of Argyll, and The Tempest (2004), an adaptation of Shakespeare's play.

Adès has conducted many orchestras including the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestre National de Radio France, and the Danish Radio Symphony Orchestra. He is also renowned for his piano performances and recordings of classical composers including György Kurtág, Leos Janácek, Robert Schumann, Franz Schubert, Poul Ruders, and Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, as well as his own compositions. Other works include the orchestral pieces The Origin of the Harp (1994), These Premises Are Alarmed (1996), and America: A Prophecy (1999), the string quartet Arcadiana (1998), and the violin concerto Concentric Paths (2005). In 2000 he became the youngest recipient of music's prestigious Grawemeyer Award, for Asyla.

Adès was born in London and studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. After reading music at King's College, Cambridge, he became a professor of composition at the Royal Academy of Music. He was a composer for the Manchester-based HalléOrchestra 1993–95 and was appointed artistic director of Suffolk's Aldeburgh International Festival in 1999.