Sunday, November 8, 2009

Simon Standage

Simon Standage (Simon Andrew Thomas Standage) is an English violinist, conductor, and teacher born on November 8, 1941 (Heifetz was 40 years old.) He is easily the most-recorded period instrument violinist in the world. His career has not been spent on the Romantic repertoire of Paganini, Wieniawski, Vieuxtemps, Mendelssohn, Brahms, Lalo, Tchaikovsky, Sibelius, Bruch, and the rest. He studied at Cambridge University and graduated in 1963. He then spent four years in the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra. After winning a fellowship, he went to New York where he studied with Ivan Galamian (1967-1969.) His debut was at Wigmore Hall in 1972, the same year he became a founding member of The English Concert. He has been a member, soloist, concertmaster, or director of various ensembles during overlapping years, including: The English Concert (1972-1991); English Chamber Orchestra (1974-1978); City of London Sinfonia (1980-1989); Salomon Quartet (1981-2009); Academy of Ancient Music (1980-1995); and the Collegium Musicum 90 (1990-2009.) His discography is very extensive and his recordings of much of the music of Bach, Vivaldi, Telemann, Mozart, and Haydn are especially well-known. He has also taught baroque violin at the Royal Academy of Music since 1983. You will find an abundance of his recordings (though no videos) available on YouTube.

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