Flight of the Eagle - Biography
Piers Adams is widely regarded as one of the greatest recorder players of our time, described as ‘a dazzling virtuoso star’ (BBC Music Magazine), ‘breathtaking’ (Daily Telegraph), ‘staggering’ (Gramophone), ‘the reigning recorder virtuoso in the world today’ (Washington Post).
Winner of the inaugural Moeck International Recorder Competition in 1984, whilst a student at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Piers has developed over the past three decades an unique and extrovert style of performance which has helped to bring his instrument before a wide public. As front-man of the famous baroque quartet Red Priest he has performed over 1000 concerts on four continents, and appeared frequently on TV and radio – including hour long televised features for NHK (Japan) and the UK’s flagship arts programme, The South Bank Show. The group has recorded several CDs on it’s own label, including an arrangement of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons hailed as ‘visionary and heretical’, and its most recent offering, The Baroque Bohemians, which reached No.1 in the UK Specialist Classical Charts.
Piers’ musicological work has taken him to forgotten areas of the recorder’s history, and he has made transcriptions from a wide range of genres. He has collaborated with many composers, including David Bedford, whose Recorder Concerto has become a cornerstone of the contemporary repertoire. As a concerto soloist he has performed with the Philharmonia, the Academy of Ancient Music, the BBC Symphony and many other orchestras throughout Europe, America and the Far East.
Current projects include tours and recording with the Dodo Street Band, described as ‘the last word in gypsy-celtic-klezmer’, an all-17th century project, Wild Men of the Seicento, with current Red Priest harpsichordist David Wright; a collaboration with sound artist Larry Lush combining baroque music with electro-trance genres; and the promotion of the fabulous new Eagle Recorder – a true concert recorder for the 21st century - in his eclectic duo with his long-term piano partner Howard Beach.
Howard Beach’s uniquely wide-ranging style of keyboard playing has been developed through years of partnering fine musicians in many different fields of music. Since 1989 he has worked regularly with Piers Adams in concert and in the recording studio as both harpsichordist and pianist – including several performances in London's Wigmore Hall and tours throughout Europe, Canada and the Far East. He has also performed and recorded as a concerto soloist and continuo player with Les Arts Florissants, the Apollo Chamber Orchestra and the London Mozart Players, and has been consultant and performer for Channel 4 TV.
For a decade from 2000-2010 Howard formed an intergral part of the iconic baroque quartet Red Priest, recording four acclaimed CDs, touring the world and appearing on radio and TV - including the South Bank Show, for which occasion he fashioned some noteworthy facial topiary.
Since leaving Red Priest Howard has pursued an eclectic career, working as accompanist, repetiteur, teacher, massage therapist and vendor of fine perfumes. His concert and recording activities have continued to thrive, in particular in duo with the eclectic guitarist Richard Durrant, and with the formation of his new baroque trio Purcell’s Muse, with ex-Red Priest violinist Julia Bishop and soprano Ana Maria Rincon.
Winner of the inaugural Moeck International Recorder Competition in 1984, whilst a student at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Piers has developed over the past three decades an unique and extrovert style of performance which has helped to bring his instrument before a wide public. As front-man of the famous baroque quartet Red Priest he has performed over 1000 concerts on four continents, and appeared frequently on TV and radio – including hour long televised features for NHK (Japan) and the UK’s flagship arts programme, The South Bank Show. The group has recorded several CDs on it’s own label, including an arrangement of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons hailed as ‘visionary and heretical’, and its most recent offering, The Baroque Bohemians, which reached No.1 in the UK Specialist Classical Charts.
Piers’ musicological work has taken him to forgotten areas of the recorder’s history, and he has made transcriptions from a wide range of genres. He has collaborated with many composers, including David Bedford, whose Recorder Concerto has become a cornerstone of the contemporary repertoire. As a concerto soloist he has performed with the Philharmonia, the Academy of Ancient Music, the BBC Symphony and many other orchestras throughout Europe, America and the Far East.
Current projects include tours and recording with the Dodo Street Band, described as ‘the last word in gypsy-celtic-klezmer’, an all-17th century project, Wild Men of the Seicento, with current Red Priest harpsichordist David Wright; a collaboration with sound artist Larry Lush combining baroque music with electro-trance genres; and the promotion of the fabulous new Eagle Recorder – a true concert recorder for the 21st century - in his eclectic duo with his long-term piano partner Howard Beach.
Howard Beach’s uniquely wide-ranging style of keyboard playing has been developed through years of partnering fine musicians in many different fields of music. Since 1989 he has worked regularly with Piers Adams in concert and in the recording studio as both harpsichordist and pianist – including several performances in London's Wigmore Hall and tours throughout Europe, Canada and the Far East. He has also performed and recorded as a concerto soloist and continuo player with Les Arts Florissants, the Apollo Chamber Orchestra and the London Mozart Players, and has been consultant and performer for Channel 4 TV.
For a decade from 2000-2010 Howard formed an intergral part of the iconic baroque quartet Red Priest, recording four acclaimed CDs, touring the world and appearing on radio and TV - including the South Bank Show, for which occasion he fashioned some noteworthy facial topiary.
Since leaving Red Priest Howard has pursued an eclectic career, working as accompanist, repetiteur, teacher, massage therapist and vendor of fine perfumes. His concert and recording activities have continued to thrive, in particular in duo with the eclectic guitarist Richard Durrant, and with the formation of his new baroque trio Purcell’s Muse, with ex-Red Priest violinist Julia Bishop and soprano Ana Maria Rincon.
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