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Hank Knox

harpsichord
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About Hank Knox

Canadian harpsichordist Hank Knox is a luminary on the international baroque music scene and has influenced generations of musicians as head of the Early Music Program at McGill University in Montreal for more than three decades.


Knox is a founding member of Montreal’s Arion Baroque Orchestra and has released solo recordings devoted to Scarlatti, Bach and Frescobaldi, duos by J.S. Bach and Antonio Vivaldi. He’s made records with Arion, Les Barocudas, violinist Dorian Bandy, Infusion Baroque and Les Boréades. He conducted a slew of baroque operas at McGill and has led performances of the Atelier Lyrique of l’Opéra de Montréal in Early Music Voices Calgary.


Knox was born in Philadelphia, started piano lessons as a youngster and later took up the organ. He fell in love with the harpsichord as a student at McGill.


He thrives on the immediacy of performance and relishes risk-taking, always approaching music with ferocious intensity while leaving some things open to chance.

Le claveciniste canadien Hank Knox est une sommité sur la scène internationale de la musique baroque et a influencé des générations de musiciens en tant que directeur du programme de musique ancienne de l'université McGill à Montréal pendant plus de trente ans.


Knox est un membre fondateur de l'orchestre baroque Arion de Montréal et a publié des enregistrements solo consacrés à Scarlatti, Bach et Frescobaldi, ainsi que des duos de J.S. Bach et d'Antonio Vivaldi. Il a enregistré des disques avec Arion, Les Barocudas, le violoniste Dorian Bandy, Infusion Baroque et Les Boréades. Il a dirigé un grand nombre d'opéras baroques à McGill et a dirigé des représentations de l'Atelier Lyrique de l'Opéra de Montréal dans le cadre des Early Music Voices Calgary.


Né à Philadelphie, Knox a commencé à prendre des leçons de piano dès son plus jeune âge, puis s'est mis à jouer de l'orgue. Il est tombé amoureux du clavecin lorsqu'il était étudiant à McGill.


Il s'épanouit dans l'immédiateté de l'interprétation et aime prendre des risques, abordant toujours la musique avec une intensité féroce tout en laissant certaines choses au hasard.

About

Videos

Hank Knox- a Baroque Legacy.
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Hank Knox | Album Trailer
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Jean-Philippe Rameau, La Poule
06:40
Videos

Press

"Any musician would be hard-pressed to render audibly what is meant to be represented visually, especially with an instrument whose textural range is as limited as the harpsichord, but Knox manages to do this with ease."

La Scena Musicale, Zenith Wolfe, June 2022 [About Scarlatti: Essercizi Per Gravicembalo]


"Knox’s harpsichord builds an elegant and large architecture for the arrangements, but his playing is alive, and there are moments when he seems to strike at the keys, elevating the bass and harmonics into a soundscape greater than what you expect from a single instrument. He goes from gentle stream to raging storm with utter control and elegance."

The East Mag, Jeremy Thomas Gilmer, January 2020


His support is seamless enough to almost take it for granted. … His rich voicings and steady beat audibly spur Fewer’s creativity.”

—  EMA, Andrew J. Sammut, May 2020


“One might assume a leading expert on Early Music to be esoteric. Hank Knox shatters this assumption.”

La Scena Musicale, Carol Xion, November 2018

« N’importe quel musicien aurait du mal à rendre audible ce qui est censé être représenté visuellement, surtout avec un instrument dont la gamme de textures est aussi limitée que le clavecin, mais Knox y parvient avec aisance. »

La Scena Musicale, Zenith Wolfe, Juin 2022  [À propos de Scarlatti: Essercizi Per Gravicembalo]


"Knox’s harpsichord builds an elegant and large architecture for the arrangements, but his playing is alive, and there are moments when he seems to strike at the keys, elevating the bass and harmonics into a soundscape greater than what you expect from a single instrument. He goes from gentle stream to raging storm with utter control and elegance."

The East Mag, Jeremy Thomas Gilmer, Janvier 2020


His support is seamless enough to almost take it for granted. … His rich voicings and steady beat audibly spur Fewer’s creativity.”

—  EMA, Andrew J. Sammut, Mai 2020


“On pourrait croire qu’un grand spécialiste de la musique ancienne est inaccessible. Hank Knox se montre tout le contraire.”

La Scena Musicale, Carol Xion, Novembre 2018

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Press

Photos

Photos

Programmes and Projects

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The cabinet of curiosities
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Residency offer
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Jesting with Art
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Heartstrings
with Mark Fewer
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L'Harmonie universelle
Programmes

Audio

Audio

Discography

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News

Discography
News
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