The Scottisdh guitarist, Simon Wynberg, enjoys a diverse career as a guitarist, chamber musician, artistic director, accompanist, producer and arranger. Wynberg is not only a virtuoso performer of distinction but one of the guitar’s foremost scholars, researching many areas of the instrument's neglected repertory, much of which he has recorded.
Simon Wynberg established the Scottish chamber festival Music in Blair Atholl, Scotland, in 1991 and was Artistic Director of Music at Speedside and the Guelph Spring Festival, and in the Caribbean from 1994 to 2002. He was appointed Artistic Director of Artists of The Royal Conservatory (The Royal Conservatory of Music’s ensemble-in-residence.) in 2002. Recent engagements include concerts at the Bermuda International Festival, Banff, New York's Bargemusic series; the Marseillan Festival in France; Sitka Festival in Alaska as well as concerts throughout the UK, North America and the Caribbean.
His entry in the New Grove Dictionary of Music & Musicians describes him as "not only a virtuoso performer of distinction but one of the guitar's foremost scholars" and his researches into forgotten 19th century repertoire and subsequent publications have introduced guitarists to over 60 volumes of hitherto unknown music. These works have become integral to the guitar's literature, and his discography includes a number of them.
Simon Wynberg's many recordings (on Chandos, ASV, Hyperion, Stradivari, Vox and Naxos) have received glowing reviews and awards. They include "The Guitar Music of Ferranti and Ferrer" (Penguin CD Guide Rosette); De Fossa's Three Quartets (Gramophone Critics' Choice) and Trois Trios Concertants (Diapason Award), and a J.S. Bach Recital CD which has sold over 100,000 copies. An enthusiastic chamber musician, Wynberg has performed and recorded with many eminent musicians and ensembles, including flautist William Bennett (Pot Pourri on ASV); oboists John Anderson (Summertime on Chandos) and Humbert Lucarelli; violinist Mark Peskanov and Paul Rosenthal; the English Chamber Orchestra and George Malcolm; the Alexander String Quartet and Gabrieli String Quartets; singers Russell Braun, Chris Pedro Trakas, Catherine Robbin, Monica Whicher, Linda Maguire, and Nathalie Paulin; and many Canadian musicians, including violinist Martin Beaver, Scott St. John, David Harding, Bryan Epperson and Susan Hoeppner.
Simon Wynberg enjoys singlemalt Scotch, The Sopranos and the writing of Mordecai Richler. |