EarlyMusicNews.Org

“Blandine Verlet studied esthetics of Marcel Beaufils, history of music with Norbert Dufourcq and harpsichord with Marcelle de Lacour at the National Conservatory of Music and Dance of Paris. In 1963, she obtained a First Prize harpsichord and the Special Prize at the International Competition in Munich.

She was a professor of harpsichord at the Conservatoire Claude Debussy from 1983 to 1985; Gabriel-Fauré d'Angoulême from 1985 to 1987 and the CNR of Bordeaux from 1987 to 1990. She taught at CRR de Rueil-Malmaison as well as at the Conservatoire Jean-Philippe Rameau, (Paris 6e) until 2007.

She received the Grand Prix of the Académie Charles-Cros and the Grand Prix du Disque of the Académie du Disque Français. …”

Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Nov 16, 2011 | Hits: 432

“Praised by The Times as ‘exceptionally gifted’ and by Early Music Today for his ‘sensitivity and vibrance,’ the Iranian-born Mahan Esfahani (b. 1984) is quickly establishing himself as the leading concert harpsichordist of his generation. He was the first harpsichordist to be named a BBC New Generation Artist and to be awarded a fellowship prize by the Borletti-Buitoni Trust. Recent highlights have included performances of of Kalabis’ Concerto for Harpsichord and Orchestra (1975) with the BBC Concert Orchestra, Martinu’s Concerto for Harpsichord and Orchestra (1935) with the BBC Symphony Orchestra under Jiri Belohlavek, and Poulenc’s Concert Champetre (1928) with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales. Last season, he also gave his solo debut at the Wigmore Hall (broadcast on BBC Radio 3) – about which the Daily Telegraph exclaimed ”the harpsichord comes out of hiding…magnificent” – and appeared at the City of London and York Early Music Festivals. In addition, his recording of the Poulenc concert was selected as a CD of the month for the May 2010 issue of BBC Music Magazine, and he has been featured as a “Hot Property” by Classic FM magazine.

Further highlights of the upcoming season include a May 2011 appearance at the Wigmore Hall with the countertenor James Bowman, and directing the Manchester Camerata, the Arion Baroque Orchestra (Montreal), and The English Concert at the 2011 Lufthansa Festival. Further afield, he will return to the United States for solo recitals and make his concerto debut in the Far East with the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra in March 2011.

As a soloist and guest director Esfahani has appeared with The English Concert, the Manchester Camerata, and the Seattle Baroque Orchestra; His series and festival appearances include the BBC Proms, Tage Alter Musik Regensburg, the Goettingen Handel Festival, the Settimana Mozart of Milan, New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art and the San Francisco Early Music Society.

Esfahani studied as a President’s Scholar at Stanford University where his principal mentor was the musicologist George Houle; he went on to pursue his performance studies under the supervision of the Australian harpsichordist Peter Watchorn (Boston) and the Italian organist Lorenzo Ghielmi (Milan) before settling in the United Kingdom in as Artist-in-Residence at New College, Oxford. In the autumn of 2010 he was further elected an honourary member of Keble College, Oxford.”

Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Nov 25, 2011 | Hits: 338

“Miriam Gómez-Morán made her first public appearance at the age of twelve. Since then, she has performed extensively on the piano, the fortepiano and the harpsichord in various countries, such as France, Hungary, Germany, Canada, United States, United Kingdom, Italy and Spain. She has also recorded for radio and television in these countries. Her performaces at the Auditorio Nacional in Madrid include: her debut in 1995 (a recital for the 50th Anniversary of United Nations, recorded by Spanish National Radio, that included the world première of “Puteus acerbus” by Rogelio Groba); a concert as soloist with Madrid Symphony Orchestra (1996), a recital in the “The Piano through its History” series (1998) and a recital in the "Mozart Piano Sonatas" series (2006). Other major performances were a harpsichord recital at St. Cecilia´s Hall on the 1755 Kirckman (Edinburgh, 2000) and piano recitals at the Juan March Foundation (Madrid), Palau de la Música (Valencia), Teatro Calderón (Valladolid), Liszt Museum (Budapest) and St. Martin in the Fields (London, 2002). She is regularly invited to perform at international festivals such as the "Festival of the American Liszt Society", "The Great Romantics Festival", "Festival de Granada", "Festival de Otoño" (Madrid), "Tavaszi Hangversenyek" (Budapest), "Edinburgh Festival Fringe", "Festival ENSEMS" (Valencia), "Festival Spanish Brass-Luur Metalls" (Alzira, Valencia), etc. Her interest towards chamber music has made her form permanent duo partnerships with Patrín García-Barredo (piano 4 hands) and Javier Bonet (natural horn and fortepiano). As a contemporary music performer, she has been a member of “Proyecto Gerhard”, with which she has recorded a CD for the Ministry of Culture, and "Plural Ensemble". With this latter group she has recorded a CD of works by Fabián Panisello for the label "Col legno". She has also worked with other orchestras such as Bilbao Symphony Orchestra and the Orchestra of the Comunidad de Madrid.

From 1996 to 1998 she taught at the Music School in Villacañas (Toledo). In november 2000 she took up a professorship at the Conservatorio Superior de Música de Salamanca, Spain's leading musical institution. She is frequently invited to give masterclasses in various institutions, among them the Aula de Música of the University of Alcalá de Henares.

She has written articles for specialized magazines such as "La Montaña Mágica", "Quodlibet" and "Revista de Espiritualidad". Her discography includes a CD with works by Liszt (piano solo) for the label Verso (VRS 2014) and two CDs with music for natural horn and fortepiano with Javier Bonet for Arsis (one of them with Juan Pavía as guest artist).”

Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Feb 16, 2012 | Hits: 209

“Born in Mundaka, Bizkaia, he studied piano, harpsichord, organ, singing, choir conducting and early music conservatories in various centers in Europe and getting the highest marks.

He has received several awards including the prize include "Andres Segovia" at the University of Santiago de Compostela. He has participated in several recordings for labels such as RTVE, and Ausart Lycanus Records and performed concerts in Europe and Asia in important festivals.

Benantzi Bilbao has directed musical cycles as the "International Music Festival of Lekeitio", "Week of sacred music of Elche" and "Els orgues d'Alacant."

He is currently director of the organ music festivals "Urdaibaiko Organoak", "International Organ Festival Monóvar City" and tenured professor of organ and harpsichord at the Conservatory "guitarist José Tomás" Alicante.” (Google Translate)

Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Feb 16, 2012 | Hits: 190

“… He has made several recordings for the Swedish Radio Corporation and for foreign radio stations, and has appeared on numerous CDs for labels such as Kontrapunkt, Canzone, Musica Sveciæ, Chandos records, dB Productions and King International Inc, Japan.

He has been highly praised for his touch, which is described as lyrically sonorous and dynamically nuanced. In 1989 he won the first prize in the ensemble class at the Swedish Baroque Festival with the Il Concertino quartet.

Anders Danman is also active as a composer: In April 2010 King International released his most recent album “All You Need” – “2 Fusion suites based on themes by the Beatles”.

As a teacher, Anders Danman has been attached to Danish music conservatories in Ålborg, Esbjerg and Odense, and since 1990 has taught harpsichord, basso continuo and chamber music at the Malmö Academy of Music.

He has also been appointed onto the panel of the International Sweelinck Competition in Oude Kerk, Amsterdam in 2010. …“

Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Feb 23, 2012 | Hits: 206

“Charlotte Miller graduated magna cum laude in organ and piano from the Academy in Copenhagen and then went to Toulouse in France, where she got the jury's highest award, Premier Prix à l'unanimité for her solo debut on the organ. It was during her French stay that Charlotte fell in love with the historic piano, fortepiano. ...

... Charlotte Miller currently works as an organist in Allerød and undergoing training privately with Malcolm Bilson at Cornell University, NY. She is also extremely active as a chamber musician in such ensemble Haydn Delight, as soloist with both organ and fortepiano, and, as an accompanist and continuo in different contexts.“

Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Feb 23, 2012 | Hits: 232

“Launched by Aline d'Ambricourt in 1998, this website is dedicated to the music lovers and the enthusiasts about the world of the ancient keyboard instruments. …

Aline d’Ambricourt was introduced to music by her mother, Jacqueline Josse-Gaudet, a tutor at the Ecole Normale de Musique in Paris, who joined Yvonne Loriot in taking lessons from Maurice Martenot himself on his famous Ondes Martenot. She attended the conservatories of Versailles (where she was taught by Agnelle Bundervoet), Saint-Cloud (receiving lessons from Richard Siegel), and Rueil-Malmaison, going on to study with Martine Chapuis, Laurence Boulay and Olivier Beaumont before completing her training with Christophe Rousset, Kenneth Gilbert and Bob van Asperen at Amsterdam’s Sweelinck Conservatory.   …

Aline’s recording of works by Louis Marchand and François Couperin was highly praised by Gramophone.

She is the first musician to record Scarlatti sonatas on the famous Migliai harpsichord, a legendary instrument which is remarkably close in tone and timbre to the harpsichords used by Domenico Scarlatti himself.  …”

Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Feb 28, 2012 | Hits: 194

“ … Tsalka was born in Tel-Aviv, Israel. After obtaining a bachelor’s degree from Tel-Aviv University, he continued studies in Germany and Italy. In 2001, he received a piano solo diploma from the Scuola Superiore Internazionale del Trio di Trieste. From 2002 to 2008, he resided in Philadelphia and studied at Temple University fortepiano and chamber music with Lambert Orkis, modern piano and piano duo with Harvey Wedeen, and harpsichord, clavichord and positive organ with Joyce Lindorff. Tsalka holds three degrees from that institution: a master’s degree in chamber music/accompanying, a master’s degree in harpsichord performance and a doctorate in piano performance. …”

Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Mar 01, 2012 | Hits: 208

“Matthew Dirst is Associate Professor of Music at the Moores School, where he teaches courses in music history, performance practice, and directs the Moores School Collegium Musicum. He is also the founding Artistic Director of Ars Lyrica Houston , a period-instrument ensemble that specializes in Baroque chamber and dramatic works. His academic degrees include a PhD in musicology from Stanford University, MM in organ and Master of Sacred Music degrees from Southern Methodist University, and a BM from the University of Illinois. …”

Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Mar 01, 2012 | Hits: 198