Press Kit – Mark Edwards, harpsichordist & organist
Bio (long)
First prize winner in the 2012 Musica Antiqua Bruges International Harpsichord Competition, Canadian harpsichordist and organist Mark Edwards is recognized for his captivating performances, bringing the listener “to new and unpredictable regions, using all of the resources of his instrument, […] of his virtuosity, and of his imagination” (La Libre Belgique). Since 2016, he is Assistant Professor of Harpsichord at Oberlin Conservatory.
He has given solo recitals at a number of prominent festival and concert series, including the Utrecht Early Music Festival, Bozar (Brussels), the Montreal Baroque Festival, and Clavecin en concert (Montreal). He has had concerto performances with a number of award-winning ensembles, including Il Gardellino (Belgium), Neobarock (Germany), Ensemble Caprice (Canada), and the Montreal Symphony Orchestra. Also an active chamber musician, he is the artistic director of Poiesis, collaborates regularly with Les Boréades de Montréal and Les Délices (Cleveland), and has performed with Tafelmusik, Il Pomo d’Oro, and Pallade Musica.
His début solo CD, Orpheus Descending, was released in 2017 on the early-music.com label and was reviewed warmly. Passaggi (ATMA 2013), his CD with the Canadian recorder player Vincent Lauzer, was nominated for an ADISQ award. His performances have been broadcast by American Public Media, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Klara (Belgium), and Radio 4 (Netherlands).
In addition to his success in Bruges, Mark has distinguished himself as a prizewinner in a number of important competitions, including the 2012 Jurow International Harpsichord Competition, the 2011 Concours d’orgue de Québec, and the 2008 Rodland Organ Competition. He is the recipient of academic grants from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). He studied at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY, where he earned his Bachelor of Music with highest distinction, and completed graduate degrees at McGill University and the Hochschule für Musik Freiburg. His former teachers include Robert Hill, William Porter, Hank Knox, and David Higgs. He is currently a doctoral candidate at Leiden University and the Orpheus Instituut, Ghent, where his research examines the intersection of memory, improvisation, and the musical work in seventeenth-century France.
Bio (short)
First prize winner in the 2012 Musica Antiqua Bruges International Harpsichord Competition, Canadian harpsichordist and organist Mark Edwards is recognized for his captivating performances, bringing the listener “to new and unpredictable regions, using all of the resources of his instrument, […] of his virtuosity, and of his imagination” (La Libre Belgique). Since 2016, he is Assistant Professor of Harpsichord at Oberlin Conservatory.
He has given solo recitals at a number of prominent festival and concert series, including the Utrecht Early Music Festival, Bozar (Brussels), the Montreal Baroque Festival, and Clavecin en concert (Montreal). He has had concerto performances with a number of award-winning ensembles, including Il Gardellino (Belgium), Neobarock (Germany), Ensemble Caprice (Canada), and the Montreal Symphony Orchestra. Also an active chamber musician, he is the artistic director of Poiesis, collaborates regularly with Les Boréades de Montréal and Les Délices (Cleveland), and has performed with Tafelmusik, Il Pomo d’Oro, and Pallade Musica.
His début solo CD, Orpheus Descending, was released in 2017 on the early-music.com label and was reviewed warmly. Passaggi (ATMA 2013), his CD with the Canadian recorder player Vincent Lauzer, was nominated for an ADISQ award. His performances have been broadcast by American Public Media, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Klara (Belgium), and Radio 4 (Netherlands).
Music Clips
Low Resolution Photos
High Resolution Photos
Please download files at the following links: head front or three-quarter profile.
Schedule
Please consult Mark Edwards’s website for a schedule of upcoming performances and for details about past events.
Recent engagements of note:
Discography
Please consult a full discography on the website.
Sample Programs
Press Coverage
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“Sweelinck begins in that sort of wandering, loved by some, made of ruptures and apparently arbitrary suspensions which are, however, quickly justified: Mark Edwards brings the listener to new and unpredictable regions, using all the resources of his instrument […], of his virtuosity and of his imagination, with the stamp—in the sweep of his playing—of the organist he also is. The Bach was even more edifying, benefiting from an excellent choice of instrument and carried with a sovereign authority. Ovation.”
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“It is rare for a mixed-recital harpsichord album to supply an overwhelming emotional experience. This is one that does… Studying Kuhnau’s and Reincken’s keyboard music elsewhere, I had never got the sense that they were much more than competent provincial craftsmen. These performances make them sound like important composers, largely through carefully-graded changes of tempo to provoke emotional responses… Bach’s piece is the mighty Chaconne for solo violin, transposed from D minor to A minor and thoroughly elaborated by Edwards. He even brings in some ideas from Liszt and Busoni. This is the most turbulent performance of the piece that I have ever heard, on any instrument, and the middle section’s switch to A major is beyond words. The previous hour of music has built inexorably to that point… Anything can happen in a performance this great, and it does.”
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“Harpsichordist Mark Edwards played two pieces by Rameau from 1724 depicting clouds of swirling dust and the figures known as Cyclops, the Greek mythological makers of thunder. These were no casual bits of incidental music. These were brilliant, virtuoso showpieces, and Edwards made swift, compelling work of them. Indeed, Edwards functioned as a kind of Cyclops himself, fashioning and throwing down one shocking bolt after another. It was just the element the program needed: the element of surprise.”
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“Rameau’s superior music stood head and shoulders above his lesser contemporaries. Edwards shone in the Troisième Concert from the composer’s Pièces de Clavecin en concerts, giving sparkle and lucidity to the complex harpsichord part.”
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“Playing [the Goldberg Variations] from memory, Edwards shaped a reading both lyrical and virtuosic, assisted by a harpsichord that sang beautifully into Kulas Hall. The crowd called for an encore, and Edwards gave them a delectable Forqueray chaconne.”
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“Tuesday afternoon at First Lutheran Church, the 25-year-old Canadian harpsichordist Mark Edwards presented a program that traced the evolution of Bach’s music from youth to maturity. Edwards handled Bach’s lavish flourishes and showy runs with confidence […]. He especially dazzled with his own florid transcription of the famous chaconne from the D-minor violin partita.”
Contact Information
Mark Edwards
264 Morgan St.
Oberlin, OH 44074
(440) 420-5519
medwards3@gmail.com