Search - Johann Sebastian Bach, Sir John Barbirolli, Bela Bartok :: The Art of Pan - A concert for Pan Flute & Organ / Ulrich Herkenhoff & Matthias Keller

Ulrich Herkenhoff was born in 1966 in Osnabrueck, Germany. He had his first piano lesson at the age of six and, at 14, he first saw the pan flute in a concert given by the Rumanian, Gheorghe Zamfir. This inspired him to intensively study the instrument allowing him to eventually achieve the reputation as ?the best non-Rumanian pan flute virtuoso". After studying the flute at the Richard Strauss Conservatory in Munich and subsequently the pan flute in an advanced class with Prof. Jochen Gaertner, Ulrich Herkenhoff rapidly become an internationally renowned soloist. He received special assistance from Georghe Zamfir?s discoverer, the Swiss music ethnologist and publisher, Marcel Cellier, to study and promote Rumanian folklore. In 1990, he recorded his first CD of Rumanian improvisations with Cellier on the organ. With his interpretations of ?classical" works, Ulrich Herkenhoff has inspired many contemporary composers to pen original compositions for the the pan flute. THE ART OF PAN is his ambitious project to see the pan flute established as a serious concert instrument. In 1992, he was honored with the Gastieg culture circle?s recognition and, in 1996, with the Bavarian state?s prize for young artists. In 2000, the German Phonographic Academy awarded him a much coveted Echo, the classic prize as soloist of the year. Herkenhoff has also become in demand for film music. Among the many films he has been involved with is the Oscar winning Lord of the Rings. His latest contribution was in 2004. in Budapest, performing Ennio Morricone?s music for the film version of Imre Kertsz?s book Fateless. Herkenhoff is also dedicated to the academic advancement of the pan flute, having published many works for the pan flute. He has made all the instruments he plays himself.