Claudio Monteverdi Vespro della Beata Vergine

During his youth in Cremona, Monteverdi received his first musical training from Marc'Antonio Ingegneri, the maestro di cappella at the Cathedral. After making his name with his first publications, including his First Book of Madrigals, he moved to the Gonzaga court in Mantua in 1590: he remained in the service of the family for twenty-two years, first as singer and violist, and later as maestro di cappella. There he composed further books of madrigals and, with L'Orfeo in 1607, one of the earliest operas in the history of music. The Vespers of the Blessed Virgin were also written in Mantua in 1610. In 1613 became Monteverdi maestro di cappella at St Mark's in Venice. He spent thirty musically fruitful years in this post. He composed sacred works, but remained interested in secular music and published his most extensive secular collections with books six to eight of his Madrigals. After the opening of the Venice opera house in 1637, the first public opera house ever , he returned to composing opera once more: both of his late operas, Il ritorno d'Ulisse in Patria and L'incoronazione di Poppea received their first performances here. Personal details

The Lautten Compagney is one of the most renowned and creative baroque instrument ensembles in Germany. Their concerts, under the artistic direction of Wolfgang Katschner, have fascinated audiences for three decades. With their infectious joy in performing and their innovative concepts, these ‘early musicians’ effortlessly translate the musical language of the Baroque to the present. Whether it’s as a solo chamber ensemble or an opera orchestra, the ensemble is continually crossing boundaries and seeking out encounters with new sounds and other art forms. The ensemble has received numerous awards for its exciting musical collaborations. For its CD recording of the program Timeless, combining early Baroque music with works by Philip Glass, it received an ECHO Klassik award in 2010. And their winning the Rheingau Musik Prize 2012 was in recognition of the Lautten Compagney’s creative concert programming. The ensemble has a particular interest in music theater, especially the works of George Frideric Handel. Their performances of Handel’s Serse on a tour of New Zealand in 2011 took both audiences and press by storm. Their production of Rinaldo, a collaboration with the Milan puppet company Carlo Colla e Figli, was enthusiastically received by young and old alike. The Lautten Compagney is a regular guest at leading national and international concert halls and festivals, including the Konzerthaus and Radialsystem V in Berlin, the Leipzig Gewandhaus, Frauenkirche Dresden, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Vienna Musikverein, Warsaw Philharmonic, An unmistakable sound, breathtaking blend, tremendous sense of musical assurance and a good portion of charm and wit are amarcord’s special hallmarks. The group’s extremely diverse and wide-ranging repertoire encompasses medieval songs, Renaissance madrigals and masses, compositions and cycles of works from the European Romantic and 20th century as well as a cappella arrangements of folk songs from all over the world, and well-known rock, pop, soul, and jazz songs. The ensemble has won prizes at numerous international competitions. In 2002 amarcord won the Deutscher Musikwettbewerb. Alongside the Gewandhaus Orchestra and St. Thomas’s Choir, amarcord is one of the most important representatives of the music city of Leipzig at home and abroad. The group is a frequent guest at leading music festivals. Numerous concert tours have taken the singers to over fifty countries and to almost every continent in the world. In association with the Goethe-Institut they have given guest performances in Australia, South East Asia, the Middle East, Russia, Africa, and Central America. The International Festival for Vocal Music “a cappella” (www.a-cappella-festival.de), inaugurated by amarcord in 1997, has become one of the most important festivals of its kind under the group’s artistic direction. Numerous CDs impressively document the different facets of amarcord’s repertoire, and have won many prizes such as ECHO Klassik (2010, 2012), the International Classical Music Award, Supersonic Award and the Contemporary A Cappella Recording Award. Personal details

An unmistakable sound, breathtaking blend, tremendous sense of musical assurance and a good portion of charm and wit are amarcord’s special hallmarks. The group’s extremely diverse and wide-ranging repertoire encompasses medieval songs, Renaissance madrigals and masses, compositions and cycles of works from the European Romantic and 20th century as well as a cappella arrangements of folk songs from all over the world, and well-known rock, pop, soul, and jazz songs. The ensemble has won prizes at numerous international competitions. In 2002 amarcord won the Deutscher Musikwettbewerb. Alongside the Gewandhaus Orchestra and St. Thomas’s Choir, amarcord is one of the most important representatives of the music city of Leipzig at home and abroad. The group is a frequent guest at leading music festivals. Numerous concert tours have taken the singers to over fifty countries and to almost every continent in the world. In association with the Goethe-Institut they have given guest performances in Australia, South East Asia, the Middle East, Russia, Africa, and Central America. The International Festival for Vocal Music "a cappella" (www.a-cappella-festival.de), inaugurated by amarcord in 1997, has become one of the most important festivals of its kind under the group’s artistic direction. Numerous CDs impressively document the different facets of amarcord’s repertoire, and have won many prizes such as ECHO Klassik (2010, 2012), the International Classical Music Award, Supersonic Award and the Contemporary A Cappella Recording Award. Personal details

Wolfgang Katschner studied guitar at the Hanns Eisler High School for Music in Berlin and lute at the High School for Music and Theatrical Arts in Frankfurt am Main. Following an engagement at the Schwerin Theater, he has worked as a freelance musician since 1984. His posts have included that of manager and dramaturg for the Schütz Academy as well as a professor of lute and guitar at the Music High Schools of Berlin and Dresden. Today much of his artistic work is with the Lautten Compagney and Capella Angelica ensembles. In recent years he has also figured more and more as a conductor, enjoying great success in that role. Personal details