EarlyMusicNews.Org

"Menno van Delft, born 1963 in Amsterdam, studied harpsichord, organ and musicology at the Sweelinck Conservatory in Amsterdam, the Royal Conservatory in The Hague and the University of Utrecht. Amongst his professors were Gustav Leonhardt, Bob van Asperen, Piet Kee, Jacques van Oortmerssen and Willem Elders. During his studies Menno van Delft sang Gregorian chant in de “Schola Cantorum Amsterdam” under the inspiring and formative leadership of Wim van Gerven. In 1988 Menno van Delft was a finalist at the C.Ph.E. Bach Competition in Hamburg and won the clavichord prize. Subsequently he made his debut at the Holland Festival Early Music Utrecht. He has given concerts and master classes throughout Europe and the U.S.A. and made numerous recordings for radio and television. He has been a guest at several Bachfeste of the Neue Bachgesellschaft.

As a continuo player and soloist Menno van Delft performs with Marion Verbruggen, Jaap ter Linden, Pieter Wispelwey, Bart Schneemann, Lucia Swarts and Jacques Zoon and with the Nederlandse Opera, Al Ayre Español, the Nederlands Blazersensemble, Cantus Cölln, the Koninklijk Concertgebouworkest, the Nederlands Kamerkoor and the Nederlandse Bachvereniging. He has recorded for labels such as Globe, Deutsche Harmonia Mundi, Chandos, Channel Classics, Capriccio, EMI and Decca. ...

Together with Siebe Henstra he forms the clavichord duo Der Prallende Doppelschlag and with Stefano Demicheli the harpsichord duo La Bassa Fiamenga. Since 1995 Menno van Delft has taught harpsichord, clavichord, basso continuo and ensemble playing at the Conservatory of Amsterdam (formerly the Sweelinck Conservatorium). ... " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Jul 16, 2008 | Hits: 375

"Pieter Dirksen performs as soloist on both harpsichord and organ and as continuo player with diverse chamber ensembles. He completed his musicological studies with honours in 1987 and since then published widely about baroque keyboard music. In 1996 he received his doctorate ‘cum laude’ with a dissertation on the keyboard music of Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck, which was awarded the Dutch Praemium Erasmianum. Further books have been devoted to Bach's Art of Fugue (1994), Sweelinck (essays, 2002) and Scheidemann (2007), and critical editions appeared with music by Bull, Sweelinck, Cornet, Scheidemann, Düben, Buxtehude, Reincken, Lübeck and Bach.

Pieter Dirksen is a member of Combattimento Consort Amsterdam and the Netherlands Bach Society as well as the chamber music group La Suave Melodia. He appeared in most European countries, the United States and Canada, and regularly gives masterclasses in chamber music and keyboard playing. He teached at the Organ Summer Academies in Haarlem, Göteborg and Smarano and is affiliated with the organ research at the Göteborg Organ Art Center. As a soloist he specializes in the rich seventeenth-century North-European repertoire as well as in the music of J.S. Bach. Among his numerous recordings the one devoted to the reconstruction of the earliest version of Bach's Art of Fugue and the complete recording of Sweelinck's keyboard music, in which he participated both as a player and musicologist, stand out in particular. The latter was awarded the highest Dutch prize, the Edison. " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Apr 16, 2008 | Hits: 422

"Siebe Henstra studied the harpsichord with Gustav Leonhardt and Ton Koopman at the Sweelinck Conservatory in Amsterdam. He has won prizes at competitions in Edinburgh (1982) and Amsterdam (1987). Since then, he has played with many ensembles; the best known are the Leonhardt Consort, Tokyo Baroque, La Petite Bande, the Ricercar Consort, and the Royal Concertgebouwr Orchestra. He worked with several famous directors - e.g. Frans Brüggen and Gustav Leonhardt - with whom he co-operated for recordings and opera-productions (for Ricercar, Denon, Philips, Deutsche Harmonia Mundi, Sony and Telefunken), in most of the European countries, Japan and the United States. He is continuo player (organ and harpsichord) of the Dutch Bach Society. Siebe Henstra has given a number of masterclasses in Finland, Germany, Italy, France, Japan, the USA, Catalunya, and the Czech Republic. At this moment, he teaches harpsichord at the Utrecht conservatory. He made several solo Cd's. One entirely devoted to 17th century italian music for harpsichord solo and another one with the complete keyboard works of Matthias Weckmann, both released by Ricercar. A CD with clavichord works for the MIM in Brussels and he contributed to the complete recording of Sweelinck which got an Edison award (2003) as well as an award of the 'Deutsche Schallplatten Kritik Preis (2003). " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Apr 16, 2008 | Hits: 346

"Ton Koopman was born in Zwolle in 1944. After a classical education he studied organ, harpsichord and musicology in Amsterdam and was awarded the Prix d'Excellence for both instruments. Almost from the beginning of his musical studies he was fascinated with authentic instruments and a performance style based on sound scholarship.

Even before completing his studies he laid the foundations for a career as a conductor of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century music and this fascination with the Baroque era led him in 1969, at age 25, to establish his first Baroque orchestra and, in 1979, to found the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra followed in 1993 by the Amsterdam Baroque Choir. " ...

Added on: Aug 14, 2007 | Hits: 356

"Mrs. ELŻBIETA STEFAŃSKA was born in Cracow, Poland, on September 7, 1943. Her extraordinary musical talent having become aparent already at an early age, she received her first piano lessons from her father Ludwik Stefański, professor at the Music Academy Cracow.

In 19.. she graduated from the National Music University Cracow in the harpsichord class. Her teacher was the famous German Professor Hans Pischner from Berlin. In the following years she improved her musical proficiency at various international master classes in Siena and Weimar, under the guidance of eminent European harpsichord player - such as Zuzanna Ruzickova or Ruggiero Gerlin. Her first two prizes were awarded to her at the Ancient Music Competition, Łódź, for her piano and harpsichord performance of baroque works. 1965 she won the First Prize at the International Music Competition in Geneva, where she was also honoured with the special Henri Ghez reward as the best harpsichard player. Among her awards and prizes are also the City of Cracow Prize for actistic achievements, awarded to the Baroque Trio of which she was a member and "LAUREL OF CBACOW MUSIC LOVERS" granted to her "in testimony of their gratitude and appreciation for having made classic music widely known".

Elżbieta Stefańska is a Professor at the Music University of Cracow where she leads the harpsichord class and where, from 1981-1990, she was Head of the Department of Clavecin and Ancient Instruments. Since 1990 she has frequently been invited to give concerts and to play for TV and radio recording in Japan, South Corea and Taiwan. In the Mozart Year she played 18 Mozart sonatas (6 CDs) using an ancient Mozart piano for the Pony Canyon sonographic company in Tokio. For the same company she also recorded numerous works by J.S. Bach composed for clavecin. " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Apr 26, 2008 | Hits: 356

"Krzysztof Czerwinski was born in Poznan, Poland and began his early musical training at the age of 7, as a private piano student of Prof. Irena Wyrzykowska-Mondelska, from the Academy of Music in Poznan. He received his first degree from the Wieniawski School of Music (Poznan), where he studied organ and piano. In 1997 he gained the Wieniawski School of Music Award for both best music interpretation and best organ performance. He won First Prize in the 1998 National Organ Competition in Czestochowa (Poland). In 2000 he graduated from Prof. Jozef Serafin’s organ class, receiving the High School of Music Diploma in Organ Performance.

As an organist, Krzysztof Czerwinski won several top prizes in national and international competitions and has played in many of the major venues in Poland; has broadcast and recorded for Polish radio and television, and has performed abroad, in Russia, France, Holland, Austria, Germany, England and the USA. " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Mar 27, 2008 | Hits: 306

"Studied the organ with Prof. Jozef Serafin and harpsichord with Prof. Leszek Kedracki at the Frederic Chopin Music Academy in Warsaw, where he received both his Master of Arts degrees.

As participant of the Socrates-Erasmus programme studied the organ with Prof.Dr. Ludger Lohmann and harpsichord with Jörg Halubek at Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst in Stuttgart.

Currently he is studying the organ and historical keyboard instruments with Prof.Dr. Ludger Lohmann and Jörg Halubek at Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst in Stuttgart.

He received a number of awards, including:
* the 2nd prize ex equo (1st prize not awarded) at the 1st International Franz Schmidt Organ Competition in Kitzbühel (2006),
* special prize for the best interpretation of the Toccata by Maria Hofer at the 1st International Franz Schmidt Organ Competition in Kitzbühel (2006) "
Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Mar 24, 2008 | Hits: 387

"I work as a harpsichordist, fortepianist and musicologist in West Sweden. For the past fifteen years I held a position with the baroque ensemble Corona Artis based near Göteborg, performing a wide variety of continuo and solo literature in all Baroque styles and in the earlier Classical style. Corona Artis became a freelance ensemble in January 2007. I continue being a member of this group, but am now primarily active as a freelance performer, with solo performance on the harpsichord and continuo playing as primary interests. I also have a special interest in the early piano, its construction and its repertoire. Since 1997 I have conducted specialized research in Beethoven performance practice on the piano. My Ph.D. dissertation (2007) combined historical and organological analysis to develop some guidelines for performing Beethoven’s early keyboard works. " See website for more info. (ed.)

Added on: Feb 02, 2008 | Hits: 452

“Bridget Cunningham MMus BA Hons ARCM is a prizewinning harpsichordist, versatile conductor and leading exponent of early music and historical performance who plays and has presented on several TV and Radio shows. She conducts the exciting London Early Opera (LEO), Handel House Harmonies, Emerald Baroque and the Schola Pietatis Antonio Vivaldi and has played for the London Handel Orchestra, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Irish Chamber Orchestra and Fleuri. She has also recently performed as a solo harpsichordist for Prince Charles at Buckingham Palace.

Performances and conducting have been featured on ITV, Sky Arts, RTE, RTP 2 and BBC TV and Radio including Woman's Hour, Front Row and the recent King James's Bible series on Radio 4. She is a Yeoman of the Worshipful Company of Musicians and was supported as a Fellow of the Royal College of Music to work in the Centre for Performance History and work as a baroque vocal coach, where she became an artist for the Concordia Foundation. The Finzi trust awarded her a scholarship to study early Irish music and Handel's visit to Dublin which enabled her to record 'Ireland's Enchantment ' and her first solo harpsichord cd 'Handel in Ireland' which is now available. She has recorded the music for BBC documentaries including 'Vivaldi's Women', 'Elizabeth, the Virgin Queen', 'How London Was Built' and BBC2 's 'Messiah'.

Bridget has recorded for other films, including those in the USA. She has worked with several jazz musicians including a birthday party for Dave Brubeck and modern contemporary choirs and orchestras.  …“

Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Sep 07, 2011 | Hits: 244

"Carole Cerasi first became interested in the harpsichord at the age of eleven and was invited three years later by Kenneth Gilbert as the youngest participant on his course at the Vleeshuis in Antwerp. From that time until the present day one of her strongest musical influences has been Jill Severs, with occasional lessons from Gustav Leonhardt and Ton Koopman. She is now Professor of harpsichord at the Yehudi Menuhin School and of fortepiano and harpsichord at the Guildhall School of Music and the Royal Academy of Music.

Performances have included concert work throughout Europe, including acclaimed recitals at the Wigmore Hall, the Nobel Prize Ceremony in Stockholm, the Festival du Perigord, the Istanbul International Festival, and a concerto appearance with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment on London's South Bank, recitals at the Harrogate, Warwick, Brno, Dieppe, Tallinn and Ludwigsburg festivals and the Musikinstrumenten-Museum in Berlin. She premiered a new work for harpsichord and tape by the South African composer Kevin Volans, touring throughout the UK as well as Munich and Copenhagen. In 2002/3 she performed in France (La Roque d'Anthéron, Sablé, Ambronay), Belgium, Israel, Norway, Germany, Denmark and Japan; she has recently returned from a trip to Bogota, where she gave two recitals and a masterclass, and gave the opening concert at the 2003 Lausanne Bach Festival. " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Mar 24, 2008 | Hits: 354

“Originally from Bath, Claire studied piano, harpsichord, clavichord and fortepiano at the Royal College of Music.  She graduated in 1999 with a BMus and two diplomas to her name, having won a clutch of prizes and awards along the way.

Since graduating from the RCM just over a decade ago, Claire has performed with a wide range of ensembles in both the UK and abroad.  She is a regular member of Baroque Encounter Trio, and has recently joined both Musica Secreta and Il Festino as their principal continuo player. As well as specialising in Baroque chamber music, Claire has worked with many orchestras and conductors, including Walter Reiter, Philip Thorby, Alison Bury and Steven Devine.
 
Claire has recently completed a Master’s degree at Trinity College of Music, studying harpsichord and chamber organ with James Johnstone, supported by a full scholarship. She is now putting her energies into other projects, and remains much in demand as a performer and educator. Claire teaches piano at St Dunstan’s College, is a staff accompanist at Trinity College of Music and is also a regular tutor on the Early Music For Youth Summer School. She can also occasionally be found shark diving, having recently qualified as a PADI Open Water Scuba Diver. ”

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Added on: Apr 18, 2010 | Hits: 487

"David graduated with distinction from the Royal College of Music in 2003 where for two consecutive years he won the Richard the Third and Century Fund Prizes. In the same year he also won first prize in the prestigious Broadwood Harpsichord Competition - an international event held biannually at London’s Fenton House, home of the historic Benton Fletcher collection of early keyboard instruments, where he subsequently became artist in residence.

Born in Bethnal Green in the East End of London, David Wright received no musical training as a child and taught himself to play ‘by ear’. It wasn’t until he was sixteen that he had his first piano lesson and learned to read music, later going on to study harpsichord, organ, and viola da gamba as an undergraduate at Trinity College of Music, where he won the Ella Kidney prize for early music.

David works regularly with some of the world’s leading ensembles and musicians. He has directed concerts from the harpsichord including the first modern performance of Thomas Arne’s ballad opera ‘The Blind Beggar of Bethnal Green’. David is engaged regularly amongst the artists at Dartington International Summer School and as repetitieur with the English Touring Opera and The English Bach Festival, with whom he has been assistant musical director for several operas. David’s radio and television broadcasts include performances as a finalist in the York Early Music Competition and soloist at the Handel House Museum London (both for BBC Radio3) and more recently a recital as part of the Belfast Music Festival, broadcast on BBC Northern Ireland. As a continuo player and soloist David performs regularly with the London Concertante, who tour extensively worldwide.

David has a keen interest in instrument building and restoration, and has recently completed a copy of a 17th century English harpsichord which he uses regularly for concerts. " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Jun 24, 2008 | Hits: 415

"Derek Adlam is a performer and instrument maker. Trained in London, his teachers traced their musical ancestry to European traditions established by Czerny, Liszt and Clara Schumann. As a child he was, however, drawn instinctively to the ancestors of the modern piano. Neglected spinets and strangely shaped pianos with haunting, ghostly sounds possessed a magical appeal. This attraction remained strong, and while a student he began to play the harpsichord. He also began to explore the musical possibilities offered by the early piano. With the encouragement of his friends, he began his first experiments in the restoration of an antique fortepiano . ...

In 1982, Derek Adlam moved to Welbeck in Nottinghamshire to the Harley Foundation’s newly opened art and craft workshops. He became involved with the Foundation’s charitable work, and until 1999 supervised many of its artistic developments, including the building of a public art Gallery at Welbeck. Although no longer building instruments, he continues to perform, principally on the clavichord, and has given recitals in many European countries and the United States. He is President of the British Clavichord Society. " See website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Mar 05, 2008 | Hits: 295

"Well known as an organist and harpsichordist, Douglas Hollick studied with Peter Hurford whilst organ scholar at Hull University, and subsequently with Marie-Claire Alain in Paris and Gustav Leonhardt in Amsterdam. He has played widely both here and abroad, including the 1991 Prague Early Music Festival, and in Melbourne, Sydney, and the 1992 Fremantle Bach Festival in Australia. Visits to the Czech Republic have continued, with teaching and concerts in Prague, Brno and Ostrava, a member of the jury of the 1996 Organ Competition in Opava, and a Czech Radio recording. In 1999 he played in the Dolní Lukavice Haydn Festival in Bohemia. In visits to Germany he has played concerts on the Silbermann organs in Dresden and Pfaffroda, and in 2004 and 2005 on the restored 17th century organ of St Johannis, Hamburg-Neuengamme. Elsewhere in Europe have been organ recitals in Stuttgart, Roskilde Cathedral and Helsingør in Denmark, and Helsingborg in Sweden. 2003 saw a return to Sydney in Australia, and four concerts. Other concert venues have included Westminster Abbey, St Paul’s Cathedral and St John’s Smith Square in London, Winchester, Ely, Carlisle and Chester Cathedrals, Southwell Minster, Trinity, Clare, Wolfson and St Catharine’s Colleges Cambridge, and in the Edinburgh, King's Lynn, and Finchcocks Festivals, together with Hull, Southampton, Nottingham, Warwick and Edinburgh Universities. He teaches both organ and harpsichord at Cambridge University and the Birmingham Conservatoire. " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Apr 16, 2008 | Hits: 362

“Friends of Square Pianos is a sort of on-line club for owners, potential owners, and friends of - Square Pianos!

  We are also happy to welcome owners of very old grand pianos – say before about 1840 – as they do not seem to have a website of their own. 

Our aim is to encourage ownership and enjoyment of these historic instruments, and to help owners to keep them in playing condition.  There is a special pleasure in playing (and hearing) music played on the instruments for which it was composed. ..“

Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: May 14, 2009 | Hits: 850

"Gary Cooper is one of the foremost ambassadors of the harpsichord and fortepiano - in particular, as an interpreter of Bach’s & Mozart’s keyboard music. Also a concert and opera conductor, he performs with Arion (Montreal), the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, the Irish Baroque Orchestra, the new Belgian period instrument ensemble, B’Rock, and opera with English Touring Opera and at Sadler’s Wells. Gary’s recordings include, with Rachel Podger, the complete Sonatas for Keyboard & Violin by Mozart (Channel Classics), “rightly been showered with critical acclaim and awards”. His Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier was the Sunday Times Classical Record of the Year. Recitals across Europe, including Beethoven’s Diabelli, Scarlatti Sonatas, Bach & music from the London Piano School. He is setting up a new period instrument ensemble; and releasing a recording of Mozart's Variations with Beethoven’s Diabelli, Haydn, Brahms and the Goldberg Variations to follow. " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Apr 15, 2008 | Hits: 465

"For over 30 years Hendrik Bouman has counted among the most innovative and respected specialists of early music. Prolific composer of music written in the baroque and classical styles prevalent in 17th and 18th Century Italy, France, Germany, England and Spain, he has played a critical role in integrating contemporary period composition and free improvisation in historical style into the early music movement. His innovative compositions and improvisations, as well as his original basso continuo realisations and transcriptions of historic repertoire, have become a reference in the field of early music today. " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Mar 24, 2008 | Hits: 489

"Jane Chapman described as "Britain's most progressive harpsichordist" (The Independent on Sunday), and "a fearless contemporary music performer" (The Guardian), studied harpsichord with Ton Koopman. As well as being an exponent of the traditional harpsichord repertoire she has premiered over 150 solo, electroacoustic and chamber works by contemporary composers, and has compiled and edited two issues of Contemporary Music Review on the performance of new music for harpsichord. "Her progressive spirit and comprehensive technique have inspired composers to forge new parameters and sound worlds for the harpsichord with works of unprecedented musical and technological scope" (Harpsichord & Fortepiano).

Described as "Stylish and eloquent" by The Times, her recordings and recitals reveal both a scholarly and inventive approach to the baroque repertoire. Her CDs of 18th-century English music, 'The Lady's Banquet', and of the 17th-century French Bauyn Manuscript, offered the first extensive overviews of important sources previously unexplored on disc, and were both highly acclaimed - "One can count on technique to burn and faithful observance of stylistic conventions (The Musical Times). She is an Honorary Fellow of Dartington College of Arts, and an Honorary Member of the Royal College of Music, where she is professor of harpsichord. " See website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Mar 03, 2008 | Hits: 241

“Director of Sounds Baroque, Julian Perkins leads a varied career as a conductor, soloist, and chamber musician. He has appeared as a soloist and director at London's Southbank Centre, conducted staged productions for the Buxton Festival and New Kent Opera, and will be conducting Mozart’s La Finta Giardiniera for the Dutch National Opera Studio in 2012. He often performs, records, and tours with many of the UK's leading period instrument ensembles, appearing at New York's Lincoln Center, the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, BBC Proms, and at international festivals in Antwerp, Barcelona, Edinburgh, Halle, Madrid, and Paris.  Together with his early experiences as a professional consort singer with groups such as the Monteverdi Choir, Julian is ideally qualified for his numerous partnerships with renowned soloists, conductors, and ensembles.

After reading music at King’s College, Cambridge, Julian studied primarily at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis, the Royal Academy of Music, and with Trevor Pinnock CBE. A recipient of many awards, Julian was elected an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music in recognition of his standing in the music profession.”

Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Sep 07, 2011 | Hits: 252

"Maggie Cole enjoys a richly varied musical life with performances on harpsichord, fortepiano and piano. Born in the USA, she began playing the piano from an early age. A keen interest in early keyboards led her to England where she now makes her home. Maggie's teachers were Jill Severs and Kenneth Gilbert and she is pleased to be part of this "family tree" which began with Wanda Landowska. Best known in Britain through numerous recitals on BBC Radio 3 and appearances at leading festivals, abroad she has performed in venues from Seattle to Moscow, and from Finland to India. In addition to solo recitals - with Bach's 'Goldberg Variations' a speciality, given in London, Paris, Cologne, Basel, Mallorca and Chicago - she frequently performs in duos with partners including Nancy Argenta soprano, Michael Chance counter tenor, Philippa Davies flute, Catherine Mackintosh violin and Steven Isserlis cello. She is also particularly devoted to the Classical chamber music repertoire and explores this with her recently formed "Trio Goya" with Kati Debretzeni violin and Sebastian Comberti cello. " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Apr 12, 2008 | Hits: 405

“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: 329

“ .. Masumi was a prize winner at the prestigious International Harpsichord Competition in Bruges in 2007 and became the first Japanese harpsichordist to reach the finals in 21 years. She was also a semi-finalist in the International Johann Sebastian Bach Competition in Leipzig (2006), a runner-up in the Broadwood Harpsichord Competition in London (2007), and a finalist in the Fenton House Keyboard Ensemble Competition (2008) with her ensemble Corona Baroque.
 
After Masumi graduated with a University Medal from the Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University in Brisbane Australia where she studied piano with Leah Horwitz, she was granted an Australian Postgraduate Award by the Australian Government and completed her Master of Music degree on a full scholarship. In the UK, she studied at the Royal Academy of Music and Trinity College of Music and was later awarded “The English Concert” Junior Fellowship with ensemble Melopoetica. Masumi is currently working towards a PhD by Performance at the University of York. ..“

Added on: Apr 18, 2010 | Hits: 347

"Michele Benuzzi studied the harpsichord with Ottavio Dantone and obtained the harpsichord Performing Diploma at the Royal College of Music in London. He also studied musicology at the University of Pavia.

He attended master classes with Andreas Staier, Andrea Marcon, Bob van Asperen, Ketil Haugsand, Jaques Ogg, Jan Whillelm Jansen, Christine Whiffen, and Luigi Ferdinando Tagliavini. He was awarded scholarships for three consecutive years by Istituto Fernando el Católico of Zaragoza, where he followed courses on the eighteenth-century Iberian repertoire with Professor J. L. González Uriol.

In 2003 he won the third prize at the seventeenth Yamanashi International Harpsichord Competition in Japan.

He performs in Italy and abroad as soloist and with different groups of chamber musicians, and is invited to perform as soloist by different Italian orchestras. He plays for important music organizations such as Serate Musicali in Milan, the Festival of Aix en Provence, the Festival of Arles, Musica e Poesia a San Maurizio, the Ancient Music Festival at Massa e Carrara, the Foundation Querini Stampalia in Venice, the Castle of Annecy, the Bach Festival in Modena, Società dei Concerti in Milan, Tiroler Festspiele in Austria, Música Antigua de Daroca in Spain, the Tochigi Kuranomachi Early Music Festival in Japan, the Hakuju Hall - Tokyo, and the Esplanade Hall - Singapore.

In the UK, Michele Benuzzi has twice given solo recitals at the Handel House Museum, and also at St Anne’s, both in London. He has performed at Sheffield University, and is due to play at St Cecilia's Hall, Edinburgh, in both August and November of this year (2008).

He promoted, and played with other harpsichordists, the opera omnia of Domenico Scarlatti's Sonatas, which were performed from 1995 to 2002 in France.

He has founded Arcomelo, a group performing seventeenth and eighteenth-century music, and examining baroque music - especially problems concerning execution on ancient instruments. A great deal of effort goes into recovering and executing music from unedited manuscripts in European libraries.

He has recorded three harpsichord concertos by C. P. E. Bach for La Bottega Discantica: the CD had excellent reviews. In 2007 he recorded the harpsichord concertos and sinfonias by W. F. Bach, which is due for release at the end of this year. Next year will see the release of a Vivaldi CD with recorder-player Mitsuko Ota and Arcomelo. Michele Benuzzi’s first solo CD will be recorded in the autumn of this year, probably for release in Spring 2009. He recently signed a contract to record the complete W. F. Bach harpsichord works, which will be a substantial longer-term project. " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Aug 14, 2008 | Hits: 394

"NICHOLAS JACKSON - formerly Organist & Master of the Choristers at St Davids Cathedral, has also been Organist of two of London's most famous churches - St James's Piccadilly and St Lawrence Jewry-next-Guildhall. He is known internationally as an organ recitalist, harpsichordist and composer, making frequent concert tours of Europe and the U.S.A. He has played at Notre Dame, Paris, Chartres, at the Teatro Real in Madrid and in the Granada Festival. He has given recitals in London at the Royal Festival Hall, the Queen Elizabeth Hall and a 'Celebrity Recital' at St Paul's Cathedral. He has recently returned from giving a series of concerts in Italy and Croatia

Nicholas Jackson made his debut as a harpsichordist at the Wigmore Hall playing 4 Harpsichord Concertos by Bach with his own Chamber Orchestra The Concertante of London, which made 2 LP records for R.C.A. and often performed at the Queen Elizabeth Hall as well as making annual concert tours of Spain. " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Mar 24, 2008 | Hits: 436

"Paul Simmonds, born in London in 1949, was brought up in South Africa where he completed his initial musical studies (Bachelor of Music) at the Witwatersrand University with organ as principal instrument. The award of a scholarship enabled him to concentrate on the harpsichord under Stanislav Heller at the Freiburg Conservatoire in Germany. He continued his studies with Colin Tilney in London, with subsequent tuition from Gustav Leonhardt and Kenneth Gilbert.

After a successful debut at London's Purcell Room in 1979 he embarked on a career as a freelance soloist and continuo player and has performed throughout Europe and beyond. In 1982 he moved to Basel, Switzerland, where he worked for eight years as an organist at one of the city churches. During this time he taught harpsichord and chamber music at the conservatoires of Karlsruhe and Mannheim in Germany, and at Biel (CH) where he also acted as external examiner for harpsichord diploma examinations.

As a continuo player he has performed with many of Europe's leading early musicians. He performs regularly as a duo with the recorder and musette player Marianne Mezger and, with the addition of the gambist Ekkehard Weber, has given numerous recitals with Trio Basiliensis (CD and radio recordings). ... " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Apr 26, 2008 | Hits: 359