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Director's Quote of the Day:"Excellence is an art won by training and habituation. We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence, but we rather have those because we have acted rightly. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit. " Aristotle |
Robert Aitken Asia Tour Archive
Hong Kong Flute Centre proudly presents
Robert Aitken Asia Tour
2009
Soloist : Robert Aitken
Conductor : Ringo Chan with Philippine Flute Society Flute
Orchestra
Asia Tour 2009 Event
FM Broadcast Archive
Photo Album
Video Archive & Audio
Award
Biography
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Robert Aitken
Recipient of the 2003 NFA Lifetime Achievement Award winners,
Robert Aitken has been described by Classical Music as "Canadian
Musician Extraordinaire... one of Canada's leading flutists, one
with impeccable taste and extraordinary abilities to define and
mold musical concepts." The Washington Post has called him "one
of the world's top flutists... the embodiment of style." And the
Wiener Zeitung " a virtuoso in classic terrain with brilliance
and a clear svelte tone"
As a flutist, composer, conductor, and highly sought after
teacher, Robert Aitken is one of the most diversified and
respected musicians of our time.
This diversity has been characteristic of him since his early
years. At the age of 19, he became principal flute of the
Vancouver Symphony and at the same time studied composition and
Palestrina counterpoint with Barbara Pentland. He left the
orchestra the following year to continue his work in composition
with John Weinzweig and electronic music with Myron Schaeffer at
he University of Toronto. Within two years, Aitken received his
Bachelor of Music Degree and then continued with post graduate
studies. During this period, he was very active in the musical
life of Toronto and as a member of the CD Symphony, performed
under such noted conductors as Karl Bohm, Hermann Scherchen,
Heitor Villa-Lobos, Aaron Copland and Igor Stravinsky. Aitken
attended five summers at Rudolf Serkin's Marlboro Music
Festival, three at the Stratford Music Festival under the
leadership of Glenn Gould, Leonard Rose and Oscar Shumsky. In
addition, From 1985 to 1989 was Director of the "Advanced
Studies in Music Programme" at the Banff Centre for Fine Arts.
Born in Nova Scotia, Robert Aitken began his flute studies at
the age of nine in Pennsylvania and later continued with
Nicholas Fiore at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto.
Following shorter periods of study with Frederick Wilkins and
Julius Baker in New York, in 1964, he received a Canada Council
grant which enabled him to study in Europe with Jean-Pierre
Rampal, Severino Gazzelloni, Andre Jaunet, Hubert Barwahser and
to spend time with the man he considers his principal teacher
and mentor, Marcel Moyse. Throughout this period, he continued
to compose and partake in as many musical experiences as
possible.
At the age of 24, Aitken returned to Canada as co-principal
flute of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. The then music
director, Seiji Ozawa selected his "Concerto for 12 Soloists and
Orchestra" (1962) for performance on the main subscription
series. This exposure established him as a significant composer
in the eyes of the concert public and its success led to a
continuing stream of commissions from such organizations as the
Societe de musique contemporaine du Quebec, the National Youth
Orchestra, L' ensemble instrumental du Quebec, the Elmer Iseler
Signers, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and L' Orchestre
de Chambre de Neuchatel.
In 1970, Aitken left the Toronto Symphony Orchestra to devote
himself fulltime to composing and a solo career.
From 1970 to 1972 he was founder/director of the Music Today
festival at Niagara-on-the-Lake and in 1971, with composer Norma
Beecroft, he co-founded New Music concerts, Toronto which he
continues to direct today. From 1986 to 1989 he was artistic
director of the Advanced Studies in Music Program at the Banff
Centre and then, to have a closer, first-hand view of the
musical life in Europe, accepted the position of Professor of
Flute at the Staatliche Hochschule fur Musik, Freiburg im
Breisgau, Germany. In each of these positions he has continued
to prove his dedication to contemporary music by bringing
together composers from all corners of the world to showcase
their latest and most innovative musical creations.
Aitken was a prizewinner in the Concours International de Flute
de Paris, the Concours International de Flute pour la Musique
Contemporaine at Royan. Moreover, Aitken was honoured with the
Order of Canada, the Chevalier de L'Ordre Des Arts Des Lettres
from the French Government, the Canada Music Citation, the Wm.
Harold Moon Award, the Canadian Music Medal and the Roy Thomson
Hall Award, all for dedication to Canadian Music at home and
abroad. His recordings on BIS, Sony-Denon, Marquis, CBC, SM5000
and Koch are distributed world-wide.
With an international reputations a composer, Robert Aitken
believes that a commitment to contemporary music is essential
for a soloist today. His success as a conductor and performer
has resulted in some fifty new works being composed for him by
noted personalities including John Cage, Elliot Carter, George
Crumb, Roger Reynolds, Toru Takemitsu, Thorkell Sigurbjornsson,
Arne Nordheim, Manuel Enriquez, John Beckwith, R. Murray
Schafer, Gilles Tremblay and John Weinzweig.
Robert Aitken has concretized throughout the world and with more
than forty recordings to his credit. Aitken is frequently heard
on international radio.
As the music critic Kenneth Winters once wrote, "one can hardly
imagine that a musician as involved in performance and other
practical activities as Aitken would find time and mental energy
to write music of any consequence, not to speak of scores full
of inventiveness and originality, But it is exactly here where
he profess his uniqueness. His music has a distinctive quality
of its own, and a spirit of newness an adventure". To describe
his music, one might say that the many years playing in
orchestras have given him a strong sense of colour and a very
acute ear for orchestration. This interest in time-effects and
extended technique.
A four-month trip through the Orient gave him first-hand
exposure to many non-western musical cultures. This influence
often shows itself in unexpected ways. His "Shadow" although the
inspiration is generally not obvious and reveals itself subtly.
He also enjoys working with spatial and stereophonic ideas and
makes sensitive use of range as a formal element.
Robert Aitken says that with his music he would like to take the
listeners to places they have never been before. And when a
piece is over, they should really feel that they have returned
from a fascinating musical journey.
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Critics' Comment |
「Mr. Aitken did scarcely believable thing with
his flute, a true tour de force.」
Financial Times. London
「...an astonishing perfection in the glorious
virtuoso handing of every means of expression..」
Dagens Nyheter. Stockholm
「..Aitken was simply overpowering in his virtuosity.
By the time he had completed the breath-devouring
Badinerie, he had pulled off a major triumph.」
The Globe and Mail. Toronto
「Robert Aitken is truly called a magician on his
instrument whether he plays modern music or older music.
His style in Mozart is outstanding.」
Visir. Reykjavik
「He is an exceptionally gifted musician with a
technique that rides through every imaginable difficulty
with ease. 」
Montreal Star
「With Aitken』s flute, we heard an excellent
performance. It is not only the technique of a virtuoso,
but the creative understanding of the music itself.」
Ongaku Geijutsu, Japan
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Click Here to Robert Aitken Official Website |
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