Izhar Elias (born in Amsterdam, 1977) was the first guitarist to win the Dutch Music Prize. He is specialised in new music for guitar, early and chamber music. By using historical methods and original instruments, Elias has been able to recreate a musical language of the Baroque, Classic and Romantic periods. The Prince Bernard Cultural Foundation made it possible for Izhar to own a 1812 unique Guadagnini guitar. His collaboration with composers, choreographers and film makers has led to over 30 premieres and different multimedia projects. In 2014 Izhar was the feature of a documentary, where he played a classical piece written by death metal guitarist

Florian Magnus Maier Florian Magnus Maier (born 1973), also known as Morean, is a German classical composer, guitarist, producer and vocalist of the bands Alkaloid, Dark Fortress, and Noneuclid. Although born in Munich, he has resided in the Netherlands for over 20 ...

Education

Izhar has studied early 19th-century performance practice with Carlo Barone and learned the baroque guitar from amongst others Adrián Rodriguez van der Spoel and William Carter. Izhar has studied with

Zoran Dukic Zoran ( sr-Cyrl, Зоран) is a common South Slavic name, the masculine form of Zora, which means ''dawn, daybreak''. The name is especially common in Serbia, North Macedonia, Croatia and a little in Slovenia. Notable people with this given na ...

, Kees Hendrikse, Ton Terra and the Groningen Guitar Duo.

Career as musician

Izhar has given concerts, lectures and masterclasses in Europa, south-east Asia, Australia and Russia. He has been the soloist in concertos with orchestras such as

Residentie Orchestra Het Residentie Orkest (literal translation, ''The Residence Orchestra''; known also in English as ''Residentie Orkest The Hague'') is a Dutch orchestra based in The Hague. The orchestra is currently resident at the Amare performing arts centre in T ...

, the

Netherlands Chamber Orchestra The Netherlands Chamber Orchestra (NKO; Dutch, ''Nederlands Kamerorkest'') is a Dutch chamber orchestra based in Amsterdam. The NKO is part of the ''Stichting Nederlands Philharmonisch Orkest'' (Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra Foundation), along ...

, the

Netherlands Symphony Orchestra The Netherlands Symphony Orchestra () is a Dutch symphony orchestra. The home of the orchestra is the Muziekcentrum in Enschede. The orchestra was previously known in Dutch as Orkest van het Oosten (literal translation "Orchestra of the East"), ...

Radio Filharmonisch Orkest The Radio Filharmonisch Orkest (''Radio Philharmonic Orchestra''; Dutch abbreviation RFO) is a Dutch radio orchestra, based in Hilversum. The RFO performs under the aegis of the ''Muziekcentrum van de Omroep'' (Broadcasting Music Centre; NMBC), an ...

and Combattimento Consort.

Ensemble Cordevento

In 2006 Cordevento was founded by

Erik Bosgraaf Erik Bosgraaf (born 9 May 1980) is a Dutch recorder player and musicologist. Early life Bosgraaf was born in Drachten, Netherlands. He received his Master of Arts in musicology from Utrecht University in 2006. In 2007 Bosgraaf, under the supervi ...

, Alessandro Pianu and Izhar, to revive the virtuoso music of the 17th century —a repertoire often on the border of art and popular music—Cordevento seeks to transcend the literal sense of their musical texts towards the lifeblood and spirit of the music. Cordevento has performed in many of Europe’s most prestigious concert halls and early music festivals, such as the Konzerthaus Vienna,

Concertgebouw The Royal Concertgebouw ( nl, Koninklijk Concertgebouw, ) is a concert hall in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The Dutch term "concertgebouw" translates into English as "concert building". Its superb acoustics place it among the finest concert halls i ...

(Amsterdam),

Palais des Beaux-Arts The Centre for Fine Arts (french: Palais des Beaux-Arts, nl, Paleis voor Schone Kunsten) is a multi-purpose cultural venue in Brussels, Belgium. It is often referred to as BOZAR (a homophone of ''Beaux-arts'') in French or PSK in Dutch. The b ...

(Brussels),

Konzerthaus Berlin The Konzerthaus Berlin is a concert hall in Berlin, the home of the Konzerthausorchester Berlin. Situated on the Gendarmenmarkt square in the central Mitte district of the city, it was originally built as a theater. It initially operated from ...

Concertgebouw, Bruges The Concertgebouw (Concert building) is a cultural centre in Bruges, Belgium. Located at , it was completed in 2002 when Bruges was European Capital of Culture, designed by Paul Robbrecht and Hilde Daem. The building complex houses a large conce ...

, and the Utrecht Early Music Festival.

Musical awards

Besides the Dutch Music Prize, Izhar has won many national and international competitions.

CD recordings

In September 2004 Izhar released his debut album ‘Omaggio a Guadagnini’. In 2007 the CD/DVD 'Big Eye' was released together with Erik Bosgraaf, including contemporary music and experimental films. In June 2009 Izhar released the world premiere recording of themes from Rossini’s opera Semiramide, as transcribed by Mauro Giuliani. His album ‘Hommage a Debussy’ was released in November 2011 . In September 2012 Cordevento released their debut album ‘La Monarcha’. In September 2013 his album with early 19th-century transcriptions of works by Beethoven has been released.

Discography

*Adelaide, Beethoven and the guitar (Brilliant Classics, 94631), 2013 *La Monarcha, 17th century music from the Spanish territories, Cordevento (Brilliant Classics, 94252), 2012 *Bassoon Kaleidoscope, with Bram van Sambeek (Brilliant Classics, 9252), 2012 *Hommage à Debussy, Spanish and French guitar music from Paris, Izhar Elias solo (Brilliant Classics, 9246), 2011 *Rossini:

Semiramide ''Semiramide'' () is an opera in two acts by Gioachino Rossini. The libretto by Gaetano Rossi is based on Voltaire's tragedy ''Semiramis'', which in turn was based on the legend of Semiramis of Assyria. The opera was first performed at La Fenice ...

, opera arrangements for solo guitar by

Mauro Giuliani Mauro Giuseppe Sergio Pantaleo Giuliani (27 July 1781 – 8 May 1829) was an Italian guitarist, cellist, singer, and composer. He was a leading guitar virtuoso of the early 19th century. Biography Although born in Bisceglie, Giuliani's center ...

, Izhar Elias solo (2CD, Brilliant Classics, 93902), 2009 *Vivaldi: Recorder Concertos, Cordevento (Brilliant Classics 93804), 2009 *Big Eye, movies & music, Bosgraaf&Elias (CD & DVD, Phenom Records PH0713), 2007 *Omaggio a Guadagnini, classical and romantic guitar music, Izhar Elias solo (Challenge Records, FL72401), 2004

References

External links

www.izharelias.com

www.erikbosgraaf.com

www.cordevento.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Elias, Izhar 1977 births Living people