Martin Feinstein
After playing jazz piano from a young age, Martin began playing the flute at the age of 15, inspired by hearing the works of Johann Sebastian Bach. Three years later he began flute and recorder studies at the Royal College of Music and there won a German Government Scholarship which enabled him to continue his training in Hamburg with the great German flautist Karlheinz Zoeller. After working in Hamburg and Frankfurt with the Hamburg Symphony Orchestra and Ensemble Modern, he returned to London to form the Feinstein Ensemble.
As a soloist and with his Ensemble Martin has performed, broadcast and recorded a wide range of repertoire on both modern and period instruments. In 2007 he was invited by BBC Television to introduce, direct and perform a groundbreaking broadcast of all six Brandenburg Concerti. His sonata and concerto recordings for Naxos, Black Box Music, Sanctuary Records, Dutton Epoch and Barn Cottage Records have met with critical praise both in this country and abroad. Apart from performing in all of London’s major venues, Martin has toured in the Far East, Germany, the Gulf and Egypt, Israel, Belgium and Holland.
Robin Bigwood
Robin Bigwood won the Broadwood Harpsichord Competition in 1995 and nowadays performs regularly as a soloist and continuo player. He is a member of Feinstein Ensemble and Passacaglia, and has also played with London Baroque, Florilegium, The King’s Consort, The Sixteen, Britten Sinfonia, Scottish Ensemble and many other ensembles. He works with recorder player Annabel Knight and featured with The Maggini Quartet on her 2009 Naxos album of Gordon Jacob recorder works.
Robin has taught harpsichord at Centre for Young Musicians in London, Trinity College of Music and The Yehudi Menuhin School. He runs The Workshop Series, an acclaimed series of concerts in Lewes, East Sussex, at the workshop of master harpsichord maker and restorer Malcolm Rose. He is also passionate about recording and recording technology, is the founder of Barn Cottage Records, and since 2001 has been a regular author and reviewer for the recording industry magazine Sound on Sound.
