Trevor Pinnock
Trevor Pinnock is the founder and former conductor of The English Concert, one of Europe's most durable period instrumental and vocal ensembles. He began his career as a harpsichordist and has returned to that field during the latter part of his career.
Pinnock was born on December 16, 1946, in Canterbury, England. His father was a publisher, his mother was a singer, and a grandfather was a Salvation Army bandleader. Pinnock's first musical experiences came as a boy chorister at Canterbury Cathedral, where he also attended the cathedral's choir school. He earned a Foundation Scholar position at the Royal College of Music, where he studied with Ralph Downes and Millicent Silver and earned prizes in harpsichord and organ. An RCM registrar advised Pinnock that it would be impossible to make a living as a harpsichordist, but the young musician was paying attention to the growth of the early music movement in Europe under such figures as harpsichordist Gustav Leonhardt, a major influence. He forged ahead, forming the Galliard Harpsichord Trio, which made its debut at the Royal Festival Hall in 1966. At first, the group played modern instruments, but it soon switched to historically informed performances. At the time, few musicians played historical instruments, and Pinnock and his group were at the forefront of developing new performance techniques. Pinnock also performed as a harpsichord soloist, making his debut in London in 1968.
For a time, he played modern works for harpsichord by the likes of Falla and Poulenc, but with early music on the rise, he soon began to perform Baroque and Renaissance works. In 1974, he released the album Trevor Pinnock at the Victoria and Albert Museum. The following year, he was the harpsichordist in the world premiere of Rameau's last opera, Les Boréades, under conductor John Eliot Gardiner. The Galliard Harpsichord Trio also experienced success and began to expand, first from three to seven players, whereupon the group took the new name The English Concert, making its debut under that name in 1972. Soon, it expanded to chamber orchestra size, performing music of the Baroque and early Classical periods on historically appropriate instruments.
The English Concert made its debut at the BBC Proms in 1980 and its first U.S. tour in 1983, over time becoming one of the world's best-known period instrument ensembles and winning praise from Leonard Bernstein, among others. Beginning with Handel's oratorio Solomon, HWV 67, in 1986, the ensemble has taken on larger Baroque works in addition to chamber orchestra pieces. Pinnock made his debut at New York's Metropolitan Opera in 1988, leading a performance of Handel's Giulio Cesare, HWV 17, and he has served as a guest conductor of numerous orchestras, including the Boston, San Francisco, and Detroit Symphony Orchestras. He founded a new ensemble, The Classical Band, in New York in 1989, and from 1991 until 1997, Pinnock served as the principal conductor of the National Arts Center Orchestra in Ottawa, Canada. Wanting to devote more time to the harpsichord, he stepped down as director of The English Concert in 2003.
He has remained active into senior citizenhood, touring the world with the European Brandenburg Ensemble (with which he has recorded Bach's Brandenburg Concertos) and embarking on various educational projects. Pinnock has amassed a vast catalog of well over 150 recordings as conductor and harpsichordist, often releasing five or more albums in the course of a single year. The English Concert issued many of its recordings on Archiv Produktion, the early music arm of the Deutsche Grammophon label. He has remained active as a recording artist into the 2020s, often performing the music of Bach on harpsichord. In 2020, he released J.S. Bach: The Well-Tempered Clavier 1 on Deutsche Grammophon, completing the set in 2022 and returning the following year as a conductor, leading the Royal Academy of Music Soloists Ensemble with the album Bach: Partitas Re-Imagined for Small Orchestra by Thomas Oehler. In 1992, Pinnock was named Commander of the British Empire.
© James Manheim /TiVo
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Bach: Partitas (Re-imagined for Small Orchestra by Thomas Oehler)
Trevor Pinnock, Royal Academy of Music Soloists Ensemble, The Glenn Gould School
Classical - Released by Linn Records on 22 Sep 2023
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
J.S. Bach: The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2, BWV 870-893
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 8 Apr 2022
24-Bit 192.0 kHz - Stereo -
J.S. Bach: The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1, BWV 846-869
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 10 Apr 2020
24-Bit 192.0 kHz - Stereo -
Bach: Six Concertos for the Margrave of Brandenburg
Trevor Pinnock, European Brandenburg Ensemble
Classical - Released by AVIE Records on 18 Dec 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Goldberg Variations (Arr. for Small Orchestra by Józef Koffler)
Trevor Pinnock, Royal Academy of Music Soloists Ensemble, The Glenn Gould School
Classical - Released by Linn Records on 9 Oct 2020
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Vivaldi: The Four Seasons; Concerto for Oboe & Violin RV 548; Concerto for 2 Violins RV 516
The English Concert, Trevor Pinnock
Classical - Released by Archiv Produktion on 4 Feb 2002
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rameau: Pièces de clavecin en concerts
Rachel Podger, Jonathan Manson, Trevor Pinnock
Classical - Released by Channel Classics on 1 Jan 2002
24-Bit 192.0 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: Oboe Concerto in C Major, K. 314; C.P.E. Bach: Oboe Concerto in E-Flat Major, Wq. 165; Lebrun: Oboe Concerto No. 1 in D Minor
Paul Goodwin, The English Concert, Trevor Pinnock
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 21 Apr 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Handel: Water Music
The English Concert, Trevor Pinnock
Classical - Released by Archiv Produktion on 1 Jan 1983
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Vivaldi: Le quattro stagioni
Simon Standage, The English Concert, Trevor Pinnock
Classical - Released by Archiv Produktion on 1 Jan 1982
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Gluck / Haydn / Mozart - Opera Arias
Anne Sofie von Otter, The English Concert, Trevor Pinnock
Classical - Released by Archiv Produktion on 1 Jan 1997
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Vivaldi: Concertos
The English Concert, Trevor Pinnock
Classical - Released by Archiv Produktion on 1 Jan 2001
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bach, J.S.: Concertos & Orchestral Suites
The English Concert, Trevor Pinnock
Classical - Released by Archiv Produktion on 1 Jan 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Handel: The Organ Concertos
Simon Preston, The English Concert, Trevor Pinnock
Classical - Released by Archiv Produktion on 1 Jan 1984
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bach, J.S.: Toccatas BWV 910-916
Classical - Released by Archiv Produktion on 1 Jan 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Handel: Music for the Royal Fireworks (Original Version 1749)
The English Concert, Trevor Pinnock
Classical - Released by Archiv Produktion on 1 Jan 1997
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
J.S. Bach: 6 Partitas, BWVV 825-830
Classical - Released by haenssler CLASSIC on 1 Jan 1999
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Vivaldi : L'estro armonico - 6 Flute Concertos
Lisa Beznosiuk, The English Concert, Trevor Pinnock
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Leigh: Concertino for Harpsichord & Works for Orchestra
New Philharmonia Orchestra, Trevor Pinnock, Nicholas Braithwaite, London Philharmonic Orchestra
Classical - Released by Lyrita on 1 Jun 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bach : Sonates pour flûte & clavecin
Emmanuel Pahud, Trevor Pinnock
Classical - To be released on 24 May 2024 by Warner Classics
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Vivaldi: L'estro armonico Op.3
The English Concert, Trevor Pinnock
Classical - Released by Archiv Produktion on 1 Jan 1987
The Qobuz Essential Discography16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo