Alan Stivell

A herald of Breton music, Alan Stivell, born Cochevelou in Riom, Auvergne, in 1944, is the initiator of the Celtic harp revival. His debut in the 1950s gradually aroused the interest of purists and then the general public. An enthusiast of Breton culture, he created his own compositions of traditional music and performed with Bagad Bleimor before pursuing a career under his own name with an amplified harp. His albums Reflets (1970), Renaissance de la Harpe Celtique (1972) and Chemins de Terre (1974) met with international success, propelling him from the Olympia stage to the Grammy Awards. In 1979, he created the symphony Tir Na N'Og, borrowing his inspiration from pop, rock and jazz styles. Alan Stivell's advocacy of the Gaelic language and the rapprochement of cultures was revived in the 1990s, when he modernized his instrument and its sounds with the help of synthesizers(Explore, 2006) or remained faithful to tradition, as on the album Back to Breizh (2000). In 2013, the CD and DVD 40th Anniversary Olympia 2012 celebrates the anniversary of his historic 1972 concert at L'Olympia, and in 2015, AMzer evokes the cycle of the seasons.