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The Dutch recorder player and musicologist, Erik Bosgraaf, obtained his Master of Arts degree in Musicology from Utrecht University in 2006. In 2007, under the supervision of musicologist Thiemo Wind, he released a 3-CD-box with compositions of the Dutch composer Jacob van Eyck (1589-1657), a collection which attained unexpected commercial success and sold more than 25,000 copies. In the 2011-2012 season he was nominated by Concertgebouw Amsterdam and the Centre for Fine Arts, Brussels, on behalf of the German ECHO music award organisation, to take part in the Rising Stars series for a tour of the most important concert halls in Europe.
In 2005 Erik Bosgraaf, guitarist Izhar Elias and Italian harpsichord player Alessandro Pianu founded the Ensemble Cordevento. The trio at first focused mainly on 17th-century music, then, under the same name Cordevento, the ensemble from 2008 also works as a small Baroque orchestra in single strength. In this broad formation the ensemble mainly aims at 18th-century repertoire. The first CD, featuring recorder concertos by Antonio Vivaldi, was released in 2009. A CD featuring recorder transcriptions of concertos by J.S. Bach was released in 2011, and an album title "La Monarcha" was released in 2012.
Beside his activities in chamber music Erik Bosgraaf frequents the orchestral stage with symphony and chamber orchestras. He has worked with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra (Jaap van Zweden), Netherlands Kamerorkest (Gordan Nikolić), Residentie Orkest Den Haag (Reinbert de Leeuw), Holland Symfonia (Otto Tausk), The North-Netherlands Orchestra (Johannes Leertouwer), Dutch Radio Chamber Philharmonic (Thierry Fischer / Andreas Delfs) and Sinfonia Rotterdam (Alessandro Crudele). He often plays a mixture of early and more recent music with these orchestras. He has also performed with The Royal Wind Music. He made a transcription of Pierre Boulez' Dialogue de l'ombre double which was authorized by the composer. It was released in 2015. From 2024 Erik Bosgraaf is Artistic Director of the London International Festival of Early Music, most influential festival of its sort in Great Britain.
Erik Bosgraaf is generally considered to be one of the world's best recorder players. In 2009, he received a Borletti-Buitoni Trust Award which enabled him amongst others to purchase a set of special recorders. In 2009 Erik and Izhar were awarded the Amsterdam Canal Festival Award. In 2011 Erik Bosgraaf received the most prestigious Dutch Music Prize, the highest national prize for music. He was also awarded the 'Golden Violin' Prize, a prize given triennially to a classical artist who has made outstanding contributions to the classical music scene of the northern Netherlands. |
