Trevor Pinnock

Since his resignation from The English Concert in 2003, Pinnock has continued his career as a conductor, appearing with major orchestras and opera companies around the world.

[4] He made his London debut at the Royal Festival Hall in 1966 with the Galliard Harpsichord Trio, which he co-founded with Stephen Preston, flute, and Anthony Pleeth, cello.

[9][10] In November 1972 the Galliard Trio expanded to become The English Concert, an orchestra specialising in performances of baroque and classical music on period instruments.

Although I felt there were excellent interpretations of baroque music performed on modern instruments, I sensed that we'd come to the end of the road – and yet I knew that there were still discoveries to be made.

[15] He toured North America with The English Concert for the first time in 1983; he had earlier spent two periods as Artist in Residence at Washington University in St.

[6] They toured worldwide and made numerous recordings, Pinnock directing "with a characteristic energy and enthusiasm which are readily communicated to audiences.

[16] He directed The English Concert, usually from the harpsichord or chamber organ,[17] for over 30 years, deciding, with the other orchestra members, to hand it over to violinist Andrew Manze in 2003.

I especially want to go back to the rich English repertoire such as Tomkins, Byrd, Bull and Gibbons.In 1989 Pinnock founded The Classical Band in New York, signing an 18-disc recording contract with Deutsche Grammophon before the ensemble's first rehearsal.

[20] He led the group in performances of the classical and romantic repertoire from Haydn to Mendelssohn on period instruments, including playing as fortepiano soloist.

[23] He subsequently served as its artistic advisor during the 1996–1997 and 1997–1998 seasons, including a tour of the US with the performance and recording of Beethoven's 1st and 5th piano concertos with Grigory Sokolov as soloist.

[27] In 2004 he commissioned modern harpsichord music by English composer John Webb, whose Surge (2004) "is built up over an implacable rhythmic repeat-figure.

Though neither is explicitly tonal, each skilfully avoids the merely percussive effect that the harpsichord's complex overtones can all too easily impart to more densely dissonant music.

"[31] He has also played the same composer's Ebb (2000), which "comprises a spasmodic discourse against a manic background of descending scale patterns like a kind of out-of-kilter change-ringing".

[27] He has also taught a handful of harpsichordists including Lars Ulrik Mortensen, Nicholas Parle, Carole Cerasi and Julian Perkins.