Biography
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Born
8 October 1956 (age 67)
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Born In
Dublin, County Dublin, Leinster, Ireland
Garth Knox is one of the most sought after contemporary musicians of his generation. Born in Ireland he spent his childhood in Scotland, and then studied at the Royal College of Music in London where he won several prizes for viola and for chamber music. Thereafter he played with most of the leading groups in London in a mixture of all repertoires, from baroque to contemporary music.
In 1983 he was invited by Pierre Boulez to become a member of the Ensemble InterContemporain in Paris, where he had the chance to do much solo playing (including concertos directed by Pierre Boulez) and chamber music, touring widely and playing in international festivals.
In 1990 Garth Knox joined the Arditti String Quartet, playing in all the major concert halls of the world, working closely with and giving first performances of pieces by most of today's leading composers including Ligeti, Kurtág, Berio, Xenakis, Lachenmann, John Cage, Feldman and Stockhausen (the famous “Helicopter Quartet”)
In 1998, Garth Knox left the quartet to concentrate on his solo career. As a soloist, he has given premieres by Henze (the Viola Sonata is dedicated to him), Ligeti, Schnittke, Ferneyhough, James Dillon, George Benjamin and many others. He also collaborates regularly in theatre and dance projects, and has written and performed a one-man show for children.
He has recently become a pioneer of the viola d’amore, exploring its possibilities in new music, with and without electronics, and is in the process of creating a new repertoire for this instrument.
Garth Knox now lives in Paris, where he enjoys a full time solo career, giving recitals, concertos and chamber music concerts all over Europe, the USA and Japan. His solo CD (MO 782082) won the coveted Deutsche Schallplaten Preis in Germany, and his latest CD “Spectral Viola” (edition zeitklang) has been highly acclaimed. He is currently professor of viola at Musikene in San Sebastian, Spain.
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