Frederick Waxman
Work includes: a staged Pergolesi Stabat Mater with new music from Alex Mills, starring Dame Emma Kirkby, praised in The Guardian for its 'timeless directness and simplicity'; Rhythm of the Seasons, Vivaldi's Four Seasons recomposed as a percussion concerto, just recorded with Delphian Records for release in 2027, praised in The Times as 'High-risk, high-reward'; and SIDE BY SIDE, performances of Baroque and contemporary music, for which FIGURE was praised in the Guardian as 'unequivocally impressive, its sound invigorating, its commitment absolute'.
FIGURE's recent collaboration with Iestyn Davies MBE and Idrîsî Ensemble, VESPERS, was praised in the Guardian as 'haunting'. Upcoming engagements include a concert series of Baroque and contemporary music as Guest Artist at LSO St Luke's with soloists Lotte Betts-Dean and Hugh Cutting premiering commissions from several composers, including Freya Waley-Cohen, Oliver Leith, and Jonathan Dove CBE, and appearances at the London Handel Festival. Last summer Frederick was Assistant Conductor to Jonathan Cohen at Glyndebourne on their production of Handel's Saul, and he has previously assisted Dinis Sousa with BBCSO. In November 2026 he conducted the world premiere of James Larter's concerto for percussion, TOROS, with Sinfonia Smith Square.
Alongside classical music he plays jazz and writes music for film and theatre – an all-time highlight being Timetravellers at Teatr Lesi in Lviv, working with a cast of refugees from the conflict then confined to Donbas. He recently recomposed Monteverdi's Possente Spirto for Iestyn Davies to sing with the Berlin Soloists, a quartet comprising players from the Berlin Philharmonic. After its premiere in Istanbul on 14th June, they will perform it in various venues around the world including Carnegie Hall and Wigmore Hall.
Frederick read Experimental Psychology at University College, Oxford, where he was an Academic Exhibitioner and Choral Scholar, before completing further studies at GSMD.
Biography
Frederick Waxman is a keyboard player, conductor and composer from London. He is the Artistic Director of FIGURE, a London-based historically informed performance ensemble which reimagines music and music theatre, in the spirit of its historical context, through intimate performances.
Work includes: a staged Pergolesi Stabat Mater with new music from Alex Mills, starring Dame Emma Kirkby, praised in The Guardian for its 'timeless directness and simplicity'; Rhythm of the Seasons, Vivaldi's Four Seasons recomposed as a percussion concerto, just recorded with Delphian Records for release in 2027, praised in The Times as 'High-risk, high-reward'; and SIDE BY SIDE, performances of Baroque and contemporary music, for which FIGURE was praised in the Guardian as 'unequivocally impressive, its sound invigorating, its commitment absolute'.
FIGURE's recent collaboration with Iestyn Davies MBE and Idrîsî Ensemble, VESPERS, was praised in the Guardian as 'haunting'. Upcoming engagements include a concert series of Baroque and contemporary music as Guest Artist at LSO St Luke's with soloists Lotte Betts-Dean and Hugh Cutting premiering commissions from several composers, including Freya Waley-Cohen, Oliver Leith, and Jonathan Dove CBE, and appearances at the London Handel Festival. Last summer Frederick was Assistant Conductor to Jonathan Cohen at Glyndebourne on their production of Handel's Saul, and he has previously assisted Dinis Sousa with BBCSO. In November 2026 he conducted the world premiere of James Larter's concerto for percussion, TOROS, with Sinfonia Smith Square.
Alongside classical music he plays jazz and writes music for film and theatre – an all-time highlight being Timetravellers at Teatr Lesi in Lviv, working with a cast of refugees from the conflict then confined to Donbas. He recently recomposed Monteverdi's Possente Spirto for Iestyn Davies to sing with the Berlin Soloists, a quartet comprising players from the Berlin Philharmonic. After its premiere in Istanbul on 14th June, they will perform it in various venues around the world including Carnegie Hall and Wigmore Hall.
Frederick read Experimental Psychology at University College, Oxford, where he was an Academic Exhibitioner and Choral Scholar, before completing further studies at GSMD.
Share this
