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 Tom Kerstens is one of the most inspiring and versatile
guitarists of his generation with a passion for the guitar's
heritage and a genuine commitment to its future. He plays
modern guitar as well as historical instruments and has
recorded two classic CDs on Baroque and 19th century guitars.
As a concerto soloist he has performed most of the major
repertoire as well as new concertos, including the world
premier of Barrington's Pheloung's Double Guitar Concerto
and Giles Swayne's Mancanza for guitar and orchestra.
History
Tom studied in his native Netherlands as well as in Spain,
France and England and has played in masterclasses with
Alexandre Lagoya, Roberto Aussel and John Williams. He
undertook the advanced solo studies at the Guildhall School
of Music and Drama studying early music and baroque guitar
with Nigel North on a British Council scholarship Tom is
also a graduate in musicology and philosophy of the University
of Utrecht.
 He made his British debut at the 1987 Greenwich Festival
and has subsequently played at most other British Festivals,
most recently at the Harrogate, King's Lynn and Brighton
International Festivals. He has toured the UK and Europe,
plays regularly at the SBC and other major London venues
and is a regular on television and radio. His debut CD ¡Fandango!
(Conifer Records), which featured a programme uniquely
played on three different guitars - baroque, romantic and
modern - became the most broadcast guitar CD on Classic
FM in 1992-1996. The great composer Joaquin Rodrigo congratulated
him on his "excellent interpretation of my works." More
recordings followed: 'Serenade', romantic music for romantic
guitars' (a celebration of romantic music played on period
instruments) and a recording of Walton's Five Bagatelles
for EMI (Edward Greenfield described it as ("an outstanding
Performance") both of which had the rare distinction of
being selected by the Gramophone Good CD Guide in 4 consecutive
years.
Since 1995 Tom Kerstens has been Artistic Director of
the International Guitar Foundation and Festivals (IGF)
in Bath, which under his leadership has established itself
as the foremost guitar festival in Europe. In this capacity
he has commissioned over 30 new works for guitar from many
leading composers including 3 new concertos.
Now
His latest recording projects are a recording of Deirdre
Gribbin's guitar piece 'The Sanctity of Trees' (a 1997
IGF commission) for Black Box (BBM1015) and a series of
new work for guitar for BGS Records starting with 'Black
Venus, new music for guitar vol.1'. featuring first performances
of new work by Giles Swayne, Errollyn Wallen, Howard Skempton,
Philip Cashian and Gordon McPherson, and new music by Terry
Riley and Toru Takemitsu. Volume 2 is planned offering
new music by Graham Fitkin, Bruce MacCombie, Steve Reich
and Edward McGuire.
In the summer of 2001 he released '¡Zapateado! homage
to Rodrigo' celebrating the centenary of the great Spanish
composer including new work written in tribute to him by
Edward McGuire, Errollyn Wallen and Howard Skempton. Cecilia
Rodrigo awarded him the prestigious Joaquin Rodrigo commemorative
medal for his "outstanding contribution to the dissemination
of Rodrigo's work", a rare distinction awarded to a select
few including Alicia de Larrocha, Pepe Romero and the Spanish
Royal family.
Recent collaborations have included the City of London
Sinfonia, the Composers Ensemble and the Brodsky Quartet.
Quotes
"A lot of people of seem to have missed the
anniversary centenary year for Spain's best loved classical
composer Joaquin Rodrigo but a few companies have managed
to mark the occasion with offerings that go beyond the
obvious.
Excellent and extremely enjoyable though Ricardo Gallen's
playing is, Tom Kerstens on this BGS mid price CD is in
a rather different league. Here we have a demonstration
of the amazing expressivity of the guitar. Sometimes Kerstens
manages to make his guitar sound like a harp, at other
times a human voice and he can even convince you that we
are hearing orchestral sonorities particularly in the piece
called Tiento Antiguo that Rodrigo wrote in 1947. There
are also pieces by Edward McGuire, Errollyn Wallen and
Howard Skempton, written in memory of Rodrigo on this disc
but it's the pieces by Rodrigo himself that really stand
out.
Kerstens continues to amaze in another piece by Rodrigo
called In the Wheat Fields – another example of the composer's
astonishing ability to vividly conjure up a Spanish summer
landscape that he'd only seen for the first four years
of his very long and prolific life. Vivid, colourful guitar
playing from Tom Kerstens."
BBC Radio 3 CD Review Programme 7 December 2002 by Andrew
McGregor
Works
Samples of Tom's work can be found below. Select your
preferred format and size:
Black Venus - Solo Op. 42
Serenade - Ständchen
Music of Dance - Chôros No. 1
¡Zapateado! - Fandango
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