Robin Hill is a classical guitarist who has been performing worldwide for over 30 years. He has performed with a wide variety of musicians including Luciano Pavarotti, Lesley Garrett, Russell Watson, Jethro Tull and Deep Purple. He is a published author, composer, performer and guitar teacher, and is also one half of the acclaimed Hill/Wiltschinsky Guitar Duo.
Biography
Robin Hill was born in Huddersfield, Yorkshire, England, and educated at Bolton School, Lancashire. He studied at Huddersfield College of Music and later participated in master classes with Venezuelan guitarist, Alirio Diaz. In Huddersfield, Hill met fellow guitarist Peter Wiltschinsky, and together they formed, in 1973, the Hill/Wiltschinsky Guitar Duo, a successful partnership with a vast archive of recordings for Teldec/Warner Bros. Classics, Hyperion, ASV, RCA, Erato, Telstar, IMP Classics, Carlton Classics, and many more. The duo have made numerous television and radio broadcasts and toured extensively worldwide. Hill/Wiltschinsky has collaborated with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, the BBC Concert Orchestra, the Irish National Symphony Orchestra, the Caracas Symphony Orchestra and many other fine orchestras. In recent years, Hill has made many appearances as a soloist and has begun to develop his compositional activities. In 1997 he gave the premiere of his own, Concerto Primavera with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra under conductor, Ian Tracey. He has subsequently composed four further concertos, three for guitar and one for piano. He also gave the UK premiere, in 1981, of Claude Bolling’s Concerto for Classic Guitar & Jazz Piano Trio, a work he has also recorded with his quartet, Eklectica. In 1997, Hill performed Joaquín Rodrigo’s ‘Concierto de Aranjuez’ with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra under conductor Carl Davis. Hill has collaborated with artists as diverse as the legendary tenor, Luciano Pavarotti, soprano Lesley Garrett, tenor, Russell Watson, soprano Denyce Graves at the 2003 Proms at the Royal Albert Hall, and from British rock bands Jethro Tull and Deep Purple, to American jazz/soul singer, Madeline Bell. He has travelled extensively with 6 star Crystal Cruises and Cunard’s RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 and RMS Queen Mary 2, performing highly acclaimed recitals on board, from the Antarctic, South America, Hawaii, Japan, India, Thailand, North America, the Caribbean, and many more countries of the world. Hill also teaches aspiring guitarists at University of Leeds, and his book, The Guitar Gymnasium, published by Mel Bay, which is designed to develop a flawless technique and to investigate the psychology of musical performance, is used in conservatories throughout the world. Hill plays a Miguel Rodriguez guitar.
Quotes
‘As always, it was sheer pleasure to observe Robin Hill’s remarkable fluent technique: everything looks easy when he plays it.’ Colin Cooper ‘Classical Guitar Magazine’
‘Wonderful for their precision, touch and clarity of sound…refined virtuosity, the achievement of a long interpretive process.’ Il Giornale D’Italia
‘There’s nothing they can’t play. The whole evening constituted a breath of stimulating fresh air in a scene where so many duos simply lack the technical equipment to make it to the big time. From Robin Hill and Peter Wiltschinsky anything is possible.’ Colin Cooper ‘Classical Guitar Magazine’
