Lex Eisenhardt (born 1952, in Netherlands) is a performer and recording artist on early plucked instruments, such as the vihuela, the baroque guitar, and the 19th-century Romantic guitar. He studied lute and guitar at the Utrecht Conservatory. In 1981 he was appointed professor of guitar and early plucked instruments at the Sweelinck Conservatorium (later the Conservatorium of Amsterdam).[1] In the forefront of the Historically Informed Performance (HIP) on the guitar, Eisenhardt was the first to make several gramophone recordings (in 1981 and 1984) with music by the Catalan composer Fernando Sor on a period instrument from the early 19th century.[2][3] He has given solo recitals and lectures in many European countries, Australia,[4] and the United States.[5] Well-known guitarists such as Johannes Moller and Izhar Elias studied with him.
Recordings
Eisenhardt has made several recordings on period instruments. In 1993 he made a world premiere recording of works from the Secondo Libro (c. 1655) by Angelo Michele Bartolotti.[6][7] Together with soprano María-Luz Álvarez he recorded two CDs: one with Spanish songs by Esteban Daza and José Marín,[8] and another with songs and solos from the time of Monteverdi (see discography).[9]
Francesco Corbetta, The Royal Guitar (Verbena, 2003)
Publications
In 2015 Eisenhardt published a monograph on the baroque guitar, Italian Guitar Music of the Seventeenth Century, Battuto and Pizzicato (University of Rochester Press).[12] The monograph was well received by aficionados of early music.[13][14][15]
Selected articles
Eisenhardt, Lex (2007). "Bourdons as Usual". The Lute, the Journal of the Lute Society. 47.
Eisenhardt, Lex (2007). "Dissonance and battuto, a hidden practice in the performance of seventeenth-century guitar music?". The Lute, the Journal of the Lute Society. 47.
^Bauman, John (9 February 1985). "SOR Sonata No. 2 in C minor for Guitar, Op. 25. Variations on the Scottish Air "Ye Banks and Braes, " Op. 40. Six Airs from Mozart's "Die Zauberflöte, " Op. 19. Le Calme, Caprice, Op. 50". Fanfare. Lex Eisenhardt (...) plays a Viennese instrument manufactured about 1825 and, thus, is one that is certainly of a style that Sor himself might have played. Its tone is (...) delicate and mellow, at times sounding almost like a Hungarian cimbalom. It is ravishing.
^Bauman, John (19 April 1989). "SOR Variations on the Scottish Air "Ye Banks and Braes, " op. 40. Six Airs from Mozart's "Die Zauberflöte, " op. 19.Le Calme–Caprice, op. 50. Sonata No. 2 in C Minor, Op. 25". Fanfare. When the LP of the Sor release appeared I gave it a rave review (Fanfare 9:2). The silver disc is just as praiseworthy. Sonically there is little improvement, for Etcetera offered an exceptionally fine pressing. I'll take this version for convenience and longevity. Eisenhardt is a fine young player who uses a Viennese instrument from about 1825. It is more delicately mellow than modern instruments and produces a ravishing sound. Rarely has Sor's music been better served. By all means obtain this issue if you haven't already done so.
^"The Faculty of Music [of the Victorian College of the Arts] presents Lex Eisenhardt in a lecture recital 'The unknown baroque guitar' (The development of an Instrumental idiom, from Bologna to Versailles)". The Age. Melbourne, Victoria: 31. August 11, 1996.
^Moore, Tom (September 1994). "BARTOLOTTI Il Secondo Libro di Chitarra: Suites in D Minor; in D; in G Minor; in E Minor". Fanfare. 18 (1). For the listener who is used to light and undemanding music from the Baroque guitar the seriousness of Bartolotti's writing comes as a surprise. The focus is on plucked rather than strummed textures, and the weightiness of the discourse is what one would expect from the theorbo. His interpretations are fluent and convincing, the phrases well shaped, the rhythms of the dances limber, Bartolotti's harmonies and dissonances well rung. An important addition to the library of the devotee of the plucked string. This listener would be happy to hear more of Bartolotti.
^Moody, Ivan (2008). "Madrigals, frottolas and cantiones". Early Music. 36 (4). Oxford Academic: 644–645. doi:10.1093/em/can098. It is not only the repertory which is of interest here, including as it does arias by composers such as Domenico Obizzi, Giovanni Pietro Berti and Stefano Landi, but also the fact that the accompaniment is provided by a guitar, so that the arias are interspersed with some truly lovely solo pieces by Giovanni Paolo Foscarini and Francesco Corbetta, superbly played by Eisenhardt
^Moore, Tom (January 1992). "NARVAEZ Los Seis Libros del Delphin de Mùsica". Fanfare. 15 (3). Lex Eisenhardt previously appeared on Etcetera with a program of guitar music by Sor. Here he proves to be adept on the vihuela and a sensitive musician.
