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Arkady Shilkloper (Russian: Аркадий Фимович Шилклопер; born 17 October 1956) is a Russian multi-instrumentalist (horn, alphorn, flugelhorn, corno da caccia, didgeridoo, shofar, and others) and composer, currently living in Berlin. He is known as one of the best jazz performers on horn and alphorn.
Shilkloper was born in Moscow and started playing the alto horn at the age of six and switched to horn in 1967. At the age of eleven he entered the Moscow Military Music School. After two years of military service (1974–76), he studied at the Moscow Gnessin Institute (Gnessin Russian Academy of Music; 1976–81). At the same time he began his career in the orchestra of the Bolshoi Theatre (1978–85) and also began his first jazz activities.
In 1984, he formed a duo with his colleague from the Bolshoi Theatre, bassist Mikhail Karetnikow, with whom he recorded the LP "Move". (Melodiya, С60 26043 003). From 1985 to 1989, he played with A. Kirichenko and S. Letov in the band Tri-O (LP "Three Holes"). During te same period, he was a member of the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra.
Since 1986, he has collaborated with pianist Mikhail Alperin. Their first album, Wave of Sorrow (1990), was the first Russian album on ECM. Later, Shilkloper participated in three more Alperin recordings for ECM: North Story (1997), First Impression (1999) and Her First Dance (2008).
In 1990, the Alperin-Shilkloper duo invited Sergey Starostin, a Moscow Conservatory-educated clarinetist and a researcher of Russian authentic folk music, which results in the creation of Moscow Art Trio. The trio tours regularly, though its members now live in three different countries. They were one of the most well-known Ethno Jazz groups from Russia. In Russia, their albums were released by Boheme Music, and in Europe by Jaro.[citation needed]
In 1990, Shilkloper visited US for the first time. According to Leonard Feather from the Los Angeles Times, "the Soviet horn virtuoso was one of four Jazzmen 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."
Since 1998, Shilkloper has played the alphorn. His "Pilatus", "Presente Para Moscou" and "Zum Gipfel und zurück" albums feature a lot of his alphorn playing. In 1998–2002, Shilkloper performed with Europe's leading big band, the Vienna Art Orchestra. In 2000, he put together the Mauve Trio with Alegre Corrêa (guitar) and Georg Breinschmid (double bass). Their debut album Mauve (Quinton Records, 2002) was awarded the prestigious Hans Koller Prize in Austria as the "CD of the Year".
Shilkloper in 2015
In 2004, he gave the first performance of the Concerto for Alphorn and Orchestra by Daniel Schnyder, a work commissioned by the Menuhin Festival in Gstaad. In 2012, he started a collaboration with overtone singer Christian Zehnder and John Wolf Brennan.
In 2019, the Advisory Council of the International Horn Society, in recognition of significant contribution to the science and art of the horn, designated Arkady Shilkloper as an Honorary Member of the International Horn Society.[citation needed]
Shilkloper has mastered extended techniques for both the horn and the alphorn. According to Leonard Feather, his control of the horn and his creativity have set a new standard.
Discography
Solo albums
TriO
1996 – "Hornology" (RDM 6 06 144, Boheme Music CDBMR 809016) Russia
2000 – "Pilatus" (Boheme Music CDBMR 906063) Russia
2003 – "Presente para Moscou" (Dom Records); reissued in 2005 (JARO 4264–2) Germany
2006 – "Zum Gipfel und zuruck. Neue Alphornmusik" (MIGROS/Musiques suisses MGB CD 6246) Switzerland
2008 – "Portrait" Russia
2010 – "Live in DOM" (Dom Records) Russia
2015 – "Owner of a Lonely Horn" Symphonic Tribute to YES (ArtBeat Music) Russia
2024 – "New Hornology" (Jazzist JZT) Russia
2025 – «Night In Gale» Arkady Shilkloper / John Wolf Brennan (Leo CD LR 944) England
2025 – «Whale Songs» Arkady Shilkloper & BGF Big Band (Jazzist JZT) Russia
2013 — "Inspiration and Improvisation". Arkady Shilkloper talks to Sarah Willis on a Horn Hangout live from Berlin about his amazing career, improvising on the horn and on the alpine horn and even makes Sarah sweat a bit ... September 2013
