Profile

After a career spanning some fifteen years and more at the forefront of contemporary classical music in Britain and throughout the world, Rolf Hind can boast that he has worked with some of the greatest luminaries of 20th and 21st century music.

As a student of composition and the piano at the Royal College of Music, he played works by Xenakis and Messiaen to the composers themselves; prompting Messiaen to describe the undergraduate as "a great pianist".

In the years since, Rolf has worked closely with a huge range of composers, from John Adams, Tan Dun and Judith Weir to Michael Finnissy, Simon Holt and George Benjamin. His recordings span early discs for the groundbreaking Factory Classics label, to a recent recording for Nonesuch, via Bridge, Teldec, DaCapo and Virgin Classics.

He has given concerts at all the major European new music festivals, appeared five times at the Proms, and played in Carnegie Hall and Sydney Opera House. Tours have taken him as far afield as Cuba, Korea, Taiwan, Japan and New Zealand.

In the year 2000, after a long silence, Rolf began to compose again, inspired in particular by repeated trips to India and his subsequent fascination with the culture of that country. For example, The Horse Sacrifice for six instrumentalists, The City of Love (a setting of Hindi texts) for voice cello and piano, Your Black Mouth for clarinet and harp, and Sunnata for six keyboards.

He finds further inspiration from working with players at the cutting edge of instrumental technique and innovation, as in Thirteen O'Clock Shadow for the percussionists Chris Brannick and Richard Benjafield, The Eye Of Fire for the Duke Quartet and Das Unenthullte for his violin duo partner David Alberman and himself.

Rolf has already built up a significant list of performances and commissions from notable organisations such as Bromsgrove Concerts, Brighton Festival, South West German Radio and Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival. He is now working on a piano concerto commissioned by the BBC.

Rolf has been appointed Artistic Director of the Society for the Promotion of New Music and has programmed a nationwide series, Hindsight, for this season, and is currently planning next year's events. He is also the chairman of ISCM Britain.

For more about Rolf's playing career, an overview of his repertoire or sample programmes, please contact his agent, Caroline Oakes, by clicking here (Clarion Seven Muses).