Thomas Leininger

Thomas Leininger (* 1981 ) is a German harpsichordist , organist and composer .

Career

Leininger was initially a young student at the Peter Cornelius Conservatory in Mainz . Here he received piano and fortepiano lessons and worked as a harpsichordist in the Baroque ensemble Concerto delle muse, which he co-founded . In 2001 the ensemble won first prize in the national youth music competition , early music rating.

From 2001 he studied at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis , namely harpsichord with Jörg-Andreas Bötticher , organ with Jean-Claude Zehnder , Andrea Marcon and Lorenzo Ghielmi as well as historical figured bass and improvisation with Jesper Bøje Christensen and Rudolf Lutz . In addition, he attended courses with Martin Derungs , Brian Franklin , Matthias Weilenmann , Wieland Kuijken , Simon Standage and Andreas Staier . In 2004, with the support of the German Study Center in Venice , Leininger researched the operatic works of the composer Pierfrancesco Cavalli . In 2009 he received the advancement award of the Basler Organistenverband.

Thomas Leininger and the flautist and lutenist Sven Schwannberger form the core of the ensemble Il vero modo , which has already presented numerous concert programs and recorded several CDs. An annual baroque workshop is held at the Peter Cornelius Conservatory in Mainz and is led by the two musicians.

Leininger has also worked with numerous other ensembles (Capriccio Basel, Cantus Firmus Consort Solothurn, Concentus Musicus Olten, Neues Zürcher Orchester, Ensemble Aspecte Zürich, Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra , Le Concert Lorrain), with opera houses ( Theater Basel , Gran Teatre del Liceu Barcelona, Lucerne Theater , Opera da Camera Linz, Lower Saxony State Theater Hanover ) and with festivals ( Salzburg Festival , Handel Festival in Karlsruhe , Ludwigsburg Castle Festival , Winter in Schwetzingen, Bayreuth Baroque ).

Compositions

In 2003, with the support of the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation and directed by Hans-Martin Linde , Leininger's opera La Scuola festeggiante premiered, a commissioned work for the 75th anniversary of the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis. In 2004/2005 the world premieres of two sacred works followed, the oratorio Annunciation and the oratorio The Life of Saint Leonhard , the latter in the Leonhardskirche in Basel . The Heidelberg Theater and Orchestra commissioned reconstructions and new compositions of the lost parts of two Vivaldi operas, Motezuma (2006) and Tamerlano / Bajazet (2009). For the Ekhof-Theater Gotha Leininger composed recitatives and ensemble movements for the Galuppi opera Arcifanfano (2008). On behalf of the Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe, he added the incomplete orchestral movements and arias of the Handel opera Almira (2005) and composed Dino und die Arche , a “Darwinist opera” for children based on a libretto by Cédric Costantino and Tina Hartmann (2012).

CDs

• Arcadia. Italian sonatas of the 17th century. Ensemble Il vero modo: Sven Schwannberger (recorder), Thomas Leininger (harpsichord and organ), Julian Behr (lute, chitarrone), Masako Art (harp), Florian Wieninger (violone). Thorofon CTH 2508.
• Love letters. 17th century love letter settings. Ensemble Il vero modo: Giovanni Cantarini (tenor), Sven Schwannerger (chitarrone, renaissance flute), Thomas Leininger (organ), Masako Art (harp), Brigitte Gasser (lirone). Thorofon CTH 2538.
• A flauto e harpsichord. The sonatas for recorder and harpsichord by Georg Friedrich Handel . Ensemble Il vero modo: Sven Schwannberger (recorder), Thomas Leininger (harpsichord). Thorofon CTH 2540.

Web links

• Website by Thomas Leininger (as of February 21, 2012).
• Website of the ensemble Il vero modo (as of February 21, 2012) ( Memento from January 31, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
• Information on the website of the Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe (as of November 22, 2014).