Capella Leopoldina

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The Capella Leopoldina is an Austrian oratorio orchestra made up of musicians from many parts of Europe (Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Spain, Hungary, Italy, Holland and others). His focus is on the baroque oratorio as well as orchestral and chamber music literature of the 17th and 18th centuries from an instrumentation size of seven musicians up to the oratorio orchestra for large concert halls. The ensemble makes music exclusively on historical instruments or true-to-original copies using historical playing techniques that correspond to today's knowledge.

The orchestra is structured as an association based in Graz , Styria. Artistic director is Jörg Zwicker , concert masters are Ulrike Engel and Elisabeth Wiesbauer.

history

In 1992 Jörg Zwicker founded the ensemble.

In January 2000 the orchestra took over the instrumental part of the BACH XXI project. In cooperation with the Graz Cathedral Music, all of Johann Sebastian Bach's cantatas will be performed. This project is scheduled to run for 18 years, making it one of the most extensive projects in Austrian music history.

The orchestra has so far performed at the most important festivals and concert stages in Europe. CDs have been released for various labels, including the world premiere of Georg Philipp Telemann's recently rediscovered first opera "Pastorelle en musique" (Capriccio).

The CD "Vedo il ciel" (Universal / Amadeo) with arias and symphonies from oratorios by GF Handel (with Lydia Vierlinger) was nominated in 2005 for the " Klassik Amadeus Music Award " as the best recording of the year.

In 2007 the cross over project "FUSION - Baroque meets Jazz" began. The orchestra and the AMEN jazz formation improvise on the same harmony schemes and melodies in two different styles, thus merging historical performance practice and modern jazz. Numerous concerts followed in 2008 with CD production for the Universal label.

Discography

  • Pastorelle en musique (G.Ph. Telemann) - Capriccio 2003
  • Vedo il ciel, arias and symphonies from Handel's oratorios - amadeo / Universal 2004
  • Almirante; a baroque opera that never existed - Phoenix 2007
  • Fusion - Baroque meets Jazz - Universal 2009

Artistic Director

The baroque orchestra has been directed by Jörg Zwicker since it was founded. He studied baroque cello and performance practice at the Koninklijk Conservatorium Den Haag with Jaap ter Linden and at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis with Christophe Coin . At the age of 15 and inspired by his teachers Nikolaus Harnoncourt and Kurt Neuhauser, he founded his first ensemble for early music, the Musica Antiqua Graz, from which the Capella Leopoldina emerged in 1992.

Jörg Zwicker worked with conductors such as Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Eric Ericson , Konrad Junghänel , Howard Arman, Erwin Ortner , Johannes Prinz and others. a. together and is a member of numerous special early music ensembles (Saitsiing, ensemble amarena, etc.)

Since 1995 he has been teaching cello, chamber music, ensemble conducting and didactics at the Graz University of Music and baroque cello and baroque orchestra at the Vienna Conservatory . Around 40 CD productions and numerous radio and television recordings are evidence of his international work. As a cellist and conductor he has given concerts all over Europe, the USA, the former Soviet Union and India. Numerous lectures and master classes round off his musical activities.

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