Arkady Shilkloper was born in 1956, in Moscow, Russia. He began to study playing alto horn at the age of six and switched to French horn in 1967. At the age of eleven he entered the Moscow Military Music School. One of most unusual Russian musicians, Arkady plays French horn, flugelhorn, alphorn and many more wind instruments that are unusual. From 1978 to 1985 he was a member of the orchestra of the Bolshoi Theatre. With this world-famous orchestra and as a member of the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra from 1985 to 1989, he undertook numerous worldwide concert tours.
Since 1990 he has been a member of the Moscow Art Trio along with Misha Alperin and Sergey Starostin, occasionally playing in other formations as well.
Shilkloper played with Lionel Hampton, Elvin Jones, Lew Soloff and Herb Ellis. He also has worked with Pierre Favre, Louis Sclavis, Rabih Abou-Khalil, Jon Christensen, Bob Stewart.
Since 1997, Arkady is part of two Russian trios: one with St. Petersburg’s best jazzmen– acoustic bassist Vladimir Volkov and piano player Andrei Kondakov, and the other with Vladimir Volkov and Sergei Starostin. In 2000, Arkady put together the Mauve Trio with Brazilian guitar player Alegre Correa and Austrian bassist Georg Breinschmid. Their debut album ‘Mauve’ (Quinton, 2002) was awarded the prestigious Hans Koller Prize of Austria as the ‘CD Of The Year’. Arkady Shilkloper gives concerts and master-classes around the world ( approx. 100 a year) in: Russia, Europe, USA, Canada, Japan, Panama, China, Korea, and Australia.
Arkady Shilkloper’s Style
Arkady Shilkloper is well-known French horn player. His talent and style were praised many a time. For instance, Jazz Times Magazine wrote: “[…] His control of the instrument, and his blowing creativity have set a new standard, even Julius Watkins, his idol never produced such results.” The critic Jeffrey Agrell referred to Shilkloper’s style as: “Shilkloper and his bass player swing like nobody’s business. He rips and riffs and goes places that horn players aren’t supposed to go without a net, map, seat belt, crash helmet, overhead air support, and a note from their mothers. And he does so with extraordinary ease and musicality. I think maybe nobody ever told him ‘Jazz playing on horn is very difficult, and probably not natural or perhaps the phrase does not translate into Russian.’ I’d walk a camel a mile to hear this guy.”
“Moscow, Ida – It is a long trip from Moscow to Moscow, but for Arkady Shilkloper it was worth the effort. The Soviet French horn virtuoso was one of four Jazz-men from the Soviet Union who arrived here last week to take part in the 23rd annual University of Idaho Jazz Festival at his home town’s namesake city. Shilkloper, 33, on his first visit to the United States was the artistic sensation of the four-day event.” Los Angeles Times
“Unlike other European groups… the Moscow Art Trio don’t have to try to sound Post-Modem, they just are, and in a way that is what makes what they play look and sound both utterly contemporary and timeless… Once word gets out, this will be the band to book for every Festival going.” The Independent
“Shilkloper and his bass player swing like nobody’s business. He rips and riffs and goes places that horn players aren’t supposed to go without a net, map, seat belt, crash helmet, overhead air support, and a note from their mothers. And he does so with extraordinary ease and musicality. I think maybe nobody ever told him “Jazz playing on horn is very difficult, and probably not natural or perhaps the phrase does not translate into Russian. I’d walk a camel a mile to hear this guy.” Jeffrey Agrell
“Arkady Shilkloper is simply the most creative hornist on the planet, and is without doubt one of the greatest horn players who has ever lived. Nobody can do what he does. He is commonly termed a “jazz” player, but what he does goes far beyond that, transcending genre and national styles. He also performs with ear-boggling virtuosity on at least three instruments: horn, alphorn, and fluegelhorn, and no one who has ever had the cosmic good luck of hearing him in performance has ever forgotten his indelible and supreme artistry. Let me close with a quote (from the horn journal) from the first time I heard Arkady: Shilkloper and his bass player swing like nobody’s business. He rips and riffs and goes places that horn players aren’t supposed to go without a net, map, seat belt, crash helmet, overhead air support, and a note from their mothers. And he does so with extraordinary ease and musicality. I think maybe nobody ever told him “Jazz playing on horn is very difficult, and probably not natural” or perhaps the phrase does not translate into Russian. I’d walk a camel a mile to hear this guy, “ Jeffrey Agrell– Associate Professor of Horn The University of Iowa School of Music (USA)
“Arkady Shilkloper is a world-class performer on horn, flugelhorn and alphorn (on which he is truly unrivaled around the globe!). He is not only an outstanding performer, but also a very skilled composer and resourceful arranger for both brass and string orchestras and ensembles. The quartet Pago Libre was founded in 1989, Mr Shilkloper joined the group in 1994, and ever since he brought the level of this band up to the highest possible level, both as original musician and unique personality. Thanks to him, Pago Libre enjoys the status of one of Europe’s top ensembles in the triangle of contemporary classical,new jazz and imaginary folk music,” John Wolf Brennan– Professor at Hochschule für Design & Kunst (Luzern, Switzerland)
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This CD is of particular interest because it marks the first time the Moscow Art Trio worked with an orchestra. The album was recorded with the Norwegian Orchestra (artistic director– Terje Tønnesen). Mikhail Alperin referred to the compositions as music for an imaginary ballet in six pieces that fantasize on the rural topic. The sources of inspiration are multiple ranging from Sergey Paradjanov’s movies,weddings and Indian Raga.
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This album was recorded after a two year hiatus of the band due to the sickness of Mikhail Alperin. The CD contains no traditional songs. The lyrics are written by Sergey Starostin and the compositions by Mikhail Alperin. The German Concerto Magazine has reviewed the album by saying: “[…] An excellent one, a masterly extremely interesting musical experience.”
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This CD features lots of well known guest artists: Dhafer Youssef, Alegre Correa, Georg Breinschmid, Oleg Baltaga, Vladimir Volkov, Ney Conceicao, Robertinho Silva, Selio de Carvalho, Edcon “Caf” Da Silva, Adrian Mears, Jonathan Sass and Khakberdy Allamuradov. The title of the album comes from the eponymous composition by the Brazilian guitarist, Alegre Correa, who was so inspired by the Russian capital on first visit that he composed this piece on his way from the airport to the hotel.
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On this album, Shilkloper makes his French horn sing in three, four, five voices, using hi-tech electronic devices as samplers and sound processors. His music is a fusion of Jazz, classical music and Russian ethnic tradition and is very beautiful and easy to listen. This CD was Moscow Jazz Association of Journalists’s choice as “Album of the year”.
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The album gathers the influences of Asian and rap music. All these are drawn together by the thread of the multi-talented Norwegian singer, Eli Kristin Hovdsveen Hagen. The traces of Norwegian musical ideas have developed gradually – more or less unconsciously, but naturally – in the course of Alperin’s several years of living in Norway.
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The album is a continuation of the Moscow Art Trio’s aesthetic concept, which provides for equal participation of Arkady Shilkloper, a horn player with a background in classical music, the folk singer and clarinetist Sergey Starostin, and Alperin, who refers to himself as “a kind of improvising pianist”. Together they allow for the sense of pleasure, humor and technical brilliance to come into our ears.
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The first CD that documents the Moscow Art Trio’s live work. It contains the recording of an inspired concert on the NDR radio studio in Hamburg in 1996.
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With Arkady Shilkloper, French and flugelhorn, and Starostin, voice and percussion, this album is a follow-up of “Folk ” with the same brilliant combination of Jazz and Russian-Moldavian-Romanian Folk elements as well as the guest musicians from the South Siberian republic of Tuva (overtone and throat singing) and a Russian Folk ensemble.
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The listener can enjoy here an impressive combination between Jazz and Russian-Moldavian-Hungarian folk elements, with guest musicians from the South-Siberian Tuva as well as a Russian folk choir (Russkaja Pesnja).
Three O– Three Holes Modern Music Ensemble (1989) at Melodia c60 2846-1
Wave of Sorrow (1989) at ECM 1396: Alperin/ Shilkloper
Live in Grenoble (1992) at RDM 305015: Alperin/Shilkloper
Pago Libre (1996) at Bellaphon CDLR 45105: Pago Libre Quartet with Arkady Shilkloper
North Story(1996) at ECM 1596: Misha Alperin Quintet (Tore Brumborg, Jon Christensen, Terje Gevelt & Arkady Shilkloper)
Hornology (1997) at CDBMR 809016: Arkady Shilkloper solo
First Impression (1997) at ECM 1664: Mikhail Alperin/ John Surman with Arkady Shilkloper, Terje Gevelt, Jon Christensen & Hans-Kristian Kjos Sørensen
Mountain Tale (1998) at JARO 4212-2: The Bulgarian Voices Angelite & Moscow Art Trio feat. Huun-Huur-Tu
Pilatus (2000) at CDBMR 906063: Arkady Shilkloper solo
Outline (2000) at Boheme Music CDBMR: Arkady Shilkloper, Vladimir Volkov, Andrey Kondakov
Mauve (2001) at Quinton 0106-2: Shilkloper, Alegre Correa, Georg Breinschmid
Cinemagique (2001) at The Montreux Label 01112: Pago Libre with Shilkloper
Phoenix (2003) at Leo Records CD LR 377: Pago Libre with Arkady Shilkloper
Presente para Moscou (2005) at Jaro 4264-2: Arkady Shilkloper solo
Stepping Out (2005)at Leo Records CD LR 444: Libre with Shilkloper
VSP Orkestra and Arkady Shilkloper (2005) at ORK 002
Zum Gipfel und zuruck. Neue Alphornmusik (2006) at MGB CD 6246: Arkady Shilkloper solo
Her First Dance (2006) at 1995 : Mikhail Alperin, Arkady Shilkloper & Anja Lechner
Niels Klein Tentett – The Last Soup (2007) at JHM 163: Niels Klein, Oliver Leicht, Steffen Schorn, Stephan Meinberg, Arkady Shilkloper, Matthias Muche, Frank Wingold, Wolf Kerschek, Dietmar Fuhr & Eric Schaefer.
Vince Mendoza – Blauklang (2008) at ACT 9465-2: Nguyên Lê, Markus Stockhausen, Claudio Puntin, Steffen Schorn, Frank Sackenheim, Arkady Shilkloper, Jon Sass, Lars Danielsson, Ulla van Daelen, Peter Erskine & Christopher Dell
The Grieg Code – Geir Lysne Ensemble (2009) at LC 07644: Geir Lysne, Morten Halle, Tore Brunborg, Steffen Schorn, Eckhard Baur, Jesper Riis, Arkady Shilkloper, Helge Sunde, Lars A. Haug, Jørn Øien, Bjørn Kjellemyr, Andreas Bye & Terje Isungset
Fake Folk (2009) at Zappelmusic ZM001: Pago Libre with Arkady Shilkloper feat. Patrice Heral
Live in DOM (2010): A.Shilkloper, Igor Ivanushkin, Artem Fedotov, Arkady Freeman
Mussorgsky Dis-Covered (2010): Elisabeth Kulman, Tscho Theissing, Arkady Shilkloper, Miki Skuta, Georg Breinschmid
