Lex Eisenhardt (born 1952, in

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

) is a performer and recording artist on early plucked instruments, such as the vihuela, the baroque guitar, and the 19th-century

Romantic guitar The early romantic guitar, the guitar of the Classical and Romantic period, shows remarkable consistency from 1790 to 1830. Guitars had six or more single courses of strings while the Baroque guitar usually had five double courses (though the h ...

. 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). In the forefront of the

Historically Informed Performance Historically informed performance (also referred to as period performance, authentic performance, or HIP) is an approach to the performance of Western classical music, classical music, which aims to be faithful to the approach, manner and style of ...

(HIP) on the guitar, Eisenhardt was the first to make several gramophone recordings (in 1981 and 1984) with music by the

Catalan Catalan may refer to: Catalonia From, or related to Catalonia: * Catalan language, a Romance language * Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia Places * 13178 Catalan, asteroid #1 ...

composer

Fernando Sor Fernando Sor (bapt. 14 Feb. 1778, died 10 July 1839) was a Spanish classical guitarist and composer of the Romantic music, Early Romantic era. Best known for writing solo classical guitar music, he also composed an opera (at the age of 19), thr ...

on a period instrument from the early 19th century. He has given solo recitals and lectures in many European countries, Australia, and the United States. Well-known guitarists such as Johannes Moller and

Izhar Elias Izhar Elias (born in Amsterdam, 1977) was the first guitarist to win the Dutch Music Prize. He is specialised in new music for guitar, early and chamber music. By using historical methods and original instruments, Elias has been able to recreate a m ...

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 Angelo Michele Bartolotti (died before 1682) was an Italian guitarist, theorbo player and composer. Bartolotti was probably born in Bologna, Italy, as he describes himself as "Bolognese" on the title page of his first guitar book and "di Bologna" ...

. Together with soprano María-Luz Álvarez he recorded two CDs: one with Spanish songs by

Esteban Daza Esteban Daza (or Estevan Daça) (c. 1537 in Valladolid – between 1591 and 1596 in Valladolid) was a Spanish composer and vihuelist of the Renaissance. He was one of the last major vihuelists of the 16th century, as the instrument's popularit ...

and

José Marín José Marín may refer to: * José Marín (composer) (c. 1619–1699), Spanish Baroque harpist, guitarist and composer * José Marín (racewalker) (born 1950), retired Spanish race walker * José Manuel Marín (born 1971), Spanish archer * José ...

, and another with songs and solos from the time of Monteverdi (see discography).

Selected discography

* ''Fernando Sor, works for guitar'' ( Etcetera Records, 1984) * ''Spanish Songbooks, works by Esteban Daça and José Marin''. With María-Luz Álvarez, soprano (Emergo Classics, 2000) * ''Canta Venetia, songs and solos from the time of Monteverdi''. With Maria-Luz Alvarez, soprano (Etcetera Records, 2006) * ''Luys de Narvaez, works for vihuela'' (Etcetera Records, 1991) * ''Angiol Michele Bartolotti, suites'' (Etcetera Records, 1993) * ''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). The monograph was well received by aficionados of early music.

Selected articles

* * *

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Eisenhardt, Lex Living people 1952 births Dutch classical guitarists Dutch male guitarists Dutch lutenists