Violinist and conductor, founder of the Europa Galante ensemble. Born in Palermo, he was already performing J.S. Bach’s violin concertos at the Wiener Musikverein at the age of sixteen. He then started to cooperate as concertmaster with the most famous ensembles playing period instruments such as Cappella Real, Musica Antiqua Wien, Il Seminario Musicale, La Chapelle Royale, Les Musiciens du Louvre (since its beginning). In 1990, he founded his own orchestra, Europa Galante, with which he performs on the most prestigious of world stages. The albums that they recorded together won numerous awards and became reference recordings. Their extensive concert activity and huge phonographic success (almost one million discs sold) made them the best-known Italian performers of early music as well as the winners of the most awards. listen

The ensemble was founded in 1990 by the violinist Fabio Biondi who wanted to create an Italian orchestra of period instruments performing works of the great baroque and classical repertoire. It is famous for its virtuosity and energetic, almost aggressive style of performance which, however, perfectly combines with Italian and, at the same time baroque, tunefulness. Its interpretations boast not only rhythmic vigour, but also plasticity and a particular sensitivity to the richness of timbres. Since its first recordings, which are still the highest reference point, the ensemble has remained the indisputable authority on performing Italian music of the 17th and 18thcenturies. It appears in the most prestigious concert halls, not only playing well-known masterpieces, but also reviving forgotten works. listen

Founder and the leader of the Concerto Italiano ensemble, their harpsichordist, organist and pianist ready to play historical instruments. According to ‘The Times’, Alessandrini is the man who made Italian music sound Italian again, because by focusing mainly on the Italian Mannerist and Baroque repertoire, Alessandrini tries to fill his interpretations with the melodiousness and expressions characteristic of 17th- and 18th-century style. Apart from running Concerto Italiano, Rinaldo Alessandrini performs intensively as a soloist, appearing at festivals around the world, starting from Japan, through Europe and across the United States. He is often engaged as a visiting conductor, and also performs in numerous opera projects. His recordings received many awards and distinctions from international music critics, including ‘Grand Prix du Disque’ and ‘Deutschen Schallplattenkritik’ award.

Starting with the madrigal repertoire, particularly Monteverdi, and moving to the 18th-century orchestral works and operas, Concerto Italiano revolutionised the criteria of early music performance. The ensemble makes regular appearances in major musical centres, boasting numerous tokens of recognition from the musical critics, including four ‘Gramophone Awards’ (1994, 1998, 2002 and 2004), two ‘Grand Prix du Disque’, three ‘Deutschen Schallplattenkritik’ awards and others. Recently Concerto Italiano has produced a trilogy of Monteverdi operas in La Scala, Milan as well as Monteverdi’s ‘Vespers’ as well as numerous projects to celebrate the 450th anniversary of the Master of Cremona in 2017. The ensemble's recent projects include European tour with A. Scarlatti’s z ‘Cain overo il primo omicidi’ and interpretation of a programme of Roman polyphonies from the late 17th century (together with RIAS Kammerchor).

Harpsichordist and organist, as well as conductor and director of the Accademia Bizantina ensemble, with whom he has recorded a series of memorable albums of both instrumental, and opera, music. Following his brilliant successes scored in various competitions in the mid-1980’s, he immediately drew the attention of critics and audiences. In 1989 he began his collaboration with the Accademia Bizantina orchestra, becoming its director in 1996. Under his leadership, the ensemble has achieved a unique position in the musical world. As a conductor, Dantone leads both chamber music ensembles and orchestras, expanding his repertoire with works from the classical period and Romanticism. Since 1999, he has also paid a great deal of attention to opera pieces – especially to the forgotten ones - without, however, neglecting his solo career. So far, he has recorded for various labels, including Decca, Deutsche Grammophon, Naïve, or Harmonia Mundi, winning numerous international prizes in the process.

Nowadays, this group is among the most distinguished early music ensembles on the international stage. It was formed in 1983 with the intention of performing chamber music retaining the style and quality of a ‘classical string quartet.’ Initially, the band developed in collaboration with artists such as Jörg Demus, Riccardo Muti, Luciano Berio or, finally, Stefano Montanari, who was to remain the orchestra’s concertmaster for twenty years and guide them towards the idea of performing music of the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries on period instruments. Since 1989, Ottavio Dantone has been collaborating with the Accademia, becoming its director in 1996. The ensemble performs in the world’s most prestigious venues and at the most famous festivals. Its numerous records for labels such as Decca, Harmonia Mundi, Naïve, Deutsche Grammophon, or Onyx, have regularly received enthusiastic reviews, won renowned prizes such as the ‘Diapason d’Or’ or ‘Midem Classic Award’, or received ‘Grammy Award’ nominations.

Christina Pluhar discovered a passion for early music after graduating from classical guitar at the University of Graz, Austria. Since then, she has devoted her career to period instruments, including the lute, theorbo, baroque guitar and baroque harp. She studied at the Conservatory of The Hague, Schola Cantorum Basiliensis and at master courses. Among her teachers are Toyohiko Satoh, Eugen Dombois, Hopkinson Smith, Paul O’Dette, Pat O’Brian, Jesper Bøje Christensen and Mara Galassi. In 1992, she received the first award of the Malmö Chamber Music Festival, together with the La Fenice ensemble. This has launched her career of a soloist and basso continuo performer appearing on the most prestigious stages. Since 2000, she has been pursuing her live and studio career through working with her own ensemble, L’Arpeggiata. Christina Pluhar both invited leading personalities, including René Jacobs and Marc Minkowski, to collaborate with her and has herself been involved by other ensembles, such as the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra, European Baroque Orchestra and Orquestra Divino Sospiro. She recorded for Alpha, Erato, Virgin Classics and other labels.

Established in 2000 by Christina Pluhar the ensemble brings together eminent European musicians devoted to period performance. Focusing on the early Baroque repertoire and authenticity of the interpretations she can combine them with other musical styles (such as jazz and traditional music) and other artistic formats (dance and theatre) in the group’s unmistakable trademark feature. From the very beginning, the ensemble enjoyed worldwide critical success confirmed by numerous prestigious awards for their recordings, collaboration projects with stars of period performance (e.g. Philippe Jaroussky), and invitations to the world’s most important festivals. The latest album "La Lyra d'Orfeo" from Christina Pluhar and L’Arpeggiata sheds new light on the chamber cantatas and operas of Luigi Rossi (Warner Classics/Erato, 2019).

One of the most prominent harpsichordists and pianists playing period instruments, Andreas Staier started his solo career in 1986 (having previously worked with distinguished ensembles, such as Musica Antiqua Köln, Concerto Köln, Freiburger Barockorchester, Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin). He has fast gained a reputation as an exceptional performer of music from the Baroque and the Classical and Romantic periods. His broad repertoire spans from the 16th century until the late 19th century and his numerous recordings have received awards from the top music critics, including ‘Diapason d’Or’, ‘Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik’, ‘Gramophone Awards’, 10/10 Classica, and ‘Disc of the Month’ (‘BBC Music Magazine’). Andreas Staier records for BMG, Teldec Classics and Harmonia Mundi.

Founded in 1982 and also called Akamus, the ensemble is now at the forefront of international orchestras playing period instruments. The band is regularly received in the great musical centres of Europe and is very well-known by the audiences of the most important early music festivals in Poland, too, where it has already achieved several spectacular triumphs. For more than twenty years it has collaborated on a regular basis with René Jacobs, which has resulted in numerous oratories and opera productions, enthusiastically received by both critics and audiences. Akamus often performs under the leadership of Marcus Creed, Daniel Reuss, and Hans-Christoph Rademann, and in recent seasons among their conductors there were such personages as Emmanuelle Haïm, Bernarda Labadie, Paula Agnew, and Rinaldo Alessandrini. The list of Akamus’ collaborators also includes renowned soloists, such as Cecilia Bartoli, Andreas Scholl, Sandrine Piau, Isabelle Faust, Andreas Staier, Alexander Melnikov, and Anna Prohaska. The group’s recordings, which have already won all the most prestigious awards, have so far been sold in over one million copies, a testimony to the orchestra’s international success.

A German lutenist and a leading conductor of early music performance. He is particularly valued for his lute interpretations, both live and in studio, of Johann Sebastian Bach and Silvius Leopold Weiss. His collaborations include René Jacobs and Wieland Kuijken, as well as Les Arts Florissants, La Petite Bande, Musica Antiqua Köln and Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra. In 1987, he founded Cantus Cölln, a group particularly devoted to forgotten vocal Baroque music. He is known to favour the one voice per part performing practice, which he has been applying in both his ensemble’s activities and in recordings under his leadership. Konrad Junghänel has an impressive publishing record to his name with more than a hundred albums released by leading labels, including Deutsche Harmonia Mundi, Harmonia Mundi France, EMI, Accent, Deutsche Grammophon/Archiv Produktion and others.

Since their debut in 1987, this singing ensemble has consistently earned a reputation as a leading vocal troupe. Under the leadership of Konrad Junghänel, the group’s founder, an eminent lutist and conductor of early music, they focus primarily on German and Italian composers of the Renaissance and Baroque periods. They combine their hallmark consistency of sound and critically appreciated homogeneity of texture with preserving the vocal identity of each performer. The ensemble has been touring America Asia, Africa, Australia, as well as the premier early music festivals in Europe with programmes based mostly on rediscovered pieces. Recording exclusively for Harmonia Mundi the group has released thirty-six albums.

Organist and harpsichordist, Daucé is also the founder and leader of the Ensemble Correspondances which he conducts while playing his instrument. With his group, established in 2008, following the completion of his studies at the Conservatoire national supérieur de musique et de danse de Lyon, Daucé explores the French repertoire from the period of the ‘Grand Siècle’ (17th century), performing nationally and throughout Europe, as well as in Asia and both Americas, and recording albums for the label Harmonia Mundi. At the same time, he is engaged in music instruction (he has been teaching at Le Pôle supérieur de Paris since 2012), and in research work. In addition, together with William Christie, he is preparing a publication of three operas by Charpentier for the French music publisher Éditions des Abbesses. He can also boast the title of ‘Associate Artist’ of the Royaumont Foundation.

A group of vocalists and instrumentalists led by harpsichordist and organist Sébastien Daucé which derives its name from Charles Baudelaire’s poetry and combines music with other fine arts as well. The ensemble both performs the works of composers enjoying a well-deserved reputation – Charpentier, for instance – and brings back to life various compositions which –in spite of having been appreciated and frequently performed in the past – have fallen into obscurity and are little known today, such as the works of Antoine Boësset or Etienne Moulinié, emphasising that they still sound quite novel nowadays. The group also recorded several albums – each of which was enthusiastically received by critics – and some of these records won the most prestigious prizes and awards of the phonographic industry. The ensemble performs at the most important festivals in France and other European countries as well as in Japan and is regularly present in the programmes of leading European radio broadcasting corporations.

An Italian tenor, conductor and artistic manager. He mainly dedicates himself to medieval and renaissance polyphony and to the music of Claudio Monteverdi. In his activity as a professional singer he has worked with most highly regarded early music ensembles. He has co-operated with, inter alia, La Venexiana, La Petite Bande, Hespèrion XXI, Ensemble Gilles Binchois, Concerto Italiano, Mala Punica, and has toured Europe, both Americas, the Middle East and Asia. He has recorded numerous CDs, several of which have received important awards, such as the ‘Deutscher Schallplattenpreis’, ‘Diapason d’Or’ and the ‘Gramophone Award’. In 1995, Giuseppe Maletto co-founded the Cantica Symphonia ensemble dedicated to the performance of mediaeval and renaissance music. In 2008 Maletto became head of the newly created La Compagnia del Madrigale, which performs madrigals, principally by Gesualdo, Marenzio and Monteverdi.

The group was founded in 2008, when several singers with considerable experience in the repertoire of madrigals resolved to launch such a project on their own account, that is, without a conductor. Their self-dependent debut album – anthology of madrigals with lyrics derived from Ariosto’s ‘Orlando Furioso’, edited by the label Arcana – came out in 2011. Two years later the ensemble initiated a collaboration with the Glossa recording company, issuing madrigals and responsories by Gesualdo, Marenzio, Monteverdi, and many others, their successive albums winning a number of the most important international awards of the phonographic industry. The group regularly performs at the most prestigious festivals including MITO SettembreMusica, Unione Musicale in Turin, Schwetzingen Festival, RheinVokal, as well as in the most famous concert halls such as the Cologne Philharmonic, Victoria Hall in Geneva, Musée d’Orsay in Paris, the Sala Accademica of the Pontifical Institute of Sacred Music in Rome, and Wigmore Hall in London.

Conductor, musicologist and art historian from a family with a rich musical tradition, Van Nevel is one of the pioneering explorers of early music and an authority in historical performance practices. He studied at the Maastricht Academy of Music and Schola Cantorum Basiliensis. In 1971, he founded the Huelgas Ensemble, with whom he has been performing and recording mediaeval, and Renaissance, music. In his research work, he focuses on performing music in its proper historical context based on analysing manuscripts and any other sources available. This train of activity has helped unearthing many works from this long-forgotten repertoire. His output has contributed to the rediscovery of the Flemish composers Johannes Ciconia and Nicolas Gombert. Van Nevel is the author of their monographs and propagator of their artistic output, which he publishes in transcriptions through the German Bärenreiter publishing house. He is known to share his knowledge with participants of his guest lectures at, among others, the Conservatorium van Amsterdam, Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover, or Centre de Musique Ancienne de Genève. He was also a guest conductor of the Netherlands Chamber Choir for thirty years.

With almost fifty years of performance practice, Huelgas Ensemble is one of the most highly esteemed early music groups and a pioneering ensemble in the field of historically informed performance. Attached to the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis, it was founded in 1971 on the initiative of Paul Van Nevel and its name is a reference to the Codex Las Huelgas, a music manuscript, which originated in a Cistercian convent near Burgos, Spain. The group’s core repertoire is the mediaeval and Renaissance polyphony and they particularly focus on forgotten masterpieces by composers of the past. Paul Van Nevel’s ensemble has performed at the most prestigious music centres such as the BBC Proms in London, Lincoln Center in New York, Cité de la Musique in Paris, the Berliner Philharmonie, or Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and the Belém Cultural Center in Lisbon. The group also regularly takes part in the most important early music festivals. It can boast an impressive discography comprising more than a hundred albums issued by, among others, Sony Classical, Harmonia Mundi France, Deutsche Harmonia Mundi, or ECM.

Multiinstrumentalist, singer, composer, and educator, Pomianowska is among leading Polish performers of folk and ethnic music (world music). Since the beginning of her activities in the field of music and musical research, she has focussed on unique performance practices of various European, Asian, and Middle-Eastern cultures. As a soloist, she has been concerting all over the world. Pomianowska collaborates with musicians from the Arab world, from Pakistan, Senegal, Iran, Korea, China, Japan, and India. She was the ambassadress of Polish classical and folk music in Japan during her stay in that country in 1997–2002. She took part in the reconstruction of extinct Polish string instruments: the Biłgoraj Suka and Płock fiddle, as well as of the Mielec Suka. She initiated the formation of such ensembles as Zespół Polski, San-Nin Trio, and Arcus Poloniae; besides, she established the Raga Sangit, the first Polish group performing Indian music. Maria Pomianowska is also a Ph.D. of Musical Arts and professor of the Academy of Music in Kraków.

The vocalist, harpist, musicologist, founder and manager of the Basil-based Ensemble Peregrina. She received two nominations for “Polityka” passports. Agnieszka Budzińska-Bennett graduated from the Faculty of Musicology (Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznan, Ph.D. in 2010) and undertook vocal studies at Schola Cantorum Basiliensis. The international Ensemble Peregrina, which she founded, specialises in early medieval polyphony. Agnieszka made ten records with her ensemble that have won significant recognition with international critics. She also collaborates with other early music ensembles (Ensemble Perlaro, Dragma, Ferrara Ensemble, La Cetra, Accademia dell'Arcadia), presenting the Medieval repertoire as well as the music of the 17th and 18th centuries and major festivals in Europe, Asia and the United States.

Graduate of the Stanisław Moniuszko Academy of Music in Gdańsk and the Nederlandse Beiaardschool in Amersfoort, and the bursary of the City of Gdańsk (holder of the Mayor’s Scholarship and Cultural Scholarship) and of the Government of the Netherlands (Huygens Scholarship). She started to learn the carillon in 2000 during courses taught by Gert Oldenbeuving, organised by the Historical Museum of the City of Gdańsk. Since 2001, she has held the position of Municipal Carillonist. In 2005, Kaźmierczak took part in master courses in Belgium taught by Geert D’hollander. She is a prize-winner of international carillon competitions. She gives numerous concerts in Poland and worldwide, for instance in Lithuania, France, Belgium, Holland, Ireland, and the United States. She also holds the position of Assistant Professor at the Academy of Music in Gdańsk.

Organist and carillonist, she graduated from the Academy of Music in Gdańsk, where she had studied at the Faulty of Instrumental Music and Faculty of Choral Conducting. She also received her master’s degree in the class of Frans Haagen at the Nederlandse Beiaardschool at Amersfoort. Fiebig is the winner of numerous prizes in carillon competitions in Holland, Belgium, and Germany. She has given concerts in many European countries, as well as in Curaçao and the United States. In 1999 she assumed the post of municipal carillonist in Gdańsk, and in 2011 she became the first foreign – and female – carillonist in Utrecht. Her repertoire comprises carillon adaptations of not only early, but also contemporary, and even pop, music. Since 2012 she has co-organised the Early Music Carillon Festival that is held within the framework of Festival Oude Muziek in Utrecht.

Singer of traditional music; depositary and performer of the oral tradition of Polish music. Born in 1970 and brought up in north-eastern Mazovia, he digested a repertoire of devotional songs while growing up under the care of his grandmother who was the daughter of a village chanter and then took over his role in the local community. From childhood, he absorbed a manner of performed hymns that dated back to the period before World War I and most importantly involved solely the natural scales. At the age of twenty-two he returned to the countryside where he would sing with the local chanter Wincenty Nasiadko, doing, as he put it himself, ‘his apprenticeship under the guidance of a master’. Strug is currently active as a singer and song-writer; he is also the leader of the Monodia Polska ensemble and hosts numerous meetings during which, together with some volunteers, he performs a repertoire of traditional Polish songs. In addition, he records albums with both traditional, and his own, music, and also assists in contemporary renderings of historic repertoire (see, for instance, the ‘Requiem ludowe’ recorded with the Kwadrofonik ensemble). listen

One of the most recognisable harpsichordists of the young generation, Świątkiewicz plays various types of harpsichords and clavichords, as well as period pianos and organs. He is particularly passionate about improvisation. As a soloist, conductor, and chamber musician he collaborates regularly with the forefront of Polish and international orchestras and ensembles, including Brecon Baroque, Arte dei Suonatori, {oh!} Orkiestra Historyczna, and AUKSO. In 2015, he recorded a solo album with Müthel’s late-Baroque harpsichord concertos, which was awarded the Diapason d’Or. Two years later he issued another solo recording entitled ‘Cromatica’, which won a series of awards. For the ‘Rosary Sonatas’ by Biber, recorded with Rachel Podger, David Miller, and Jonathan Manson, Świątkiewicz received the ‘Gramophone Award’. In he was also awarded the prestigious “Polityka” weekly’s Passport Award. The artist is also a lecturer at the Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice. He pays particular attention to the teaching of solo playing and to courses of partimento-based improvisation.

One of the most distinguished Baroque violinists of the young generation, he graduated from the Academy of Music in Kraków, the Maastricht Academy of Music, and the Paris Conservatory (Conservatoire national supérieur de musique et de danse). As a concertmaster, he has led the most eminent ensembles such as Contrasto Armonico, Ensemble Marguerite Louise, and Orchester 1756. He has given concerts and recorded with William Christie and Les Arts Florissants, Jordi Savall and Le Concert des Nations, as well as with Marco Vitale and Contrasto Armonico. He has also performed at the most important festivals in Europe and the United States. He is the founder of the Cantate.fr ensemble and the Il Giardino d’Amore orchestra and leader of the Cappella dell'Ospedale della Pietà and of The FeelHarmony Symphony Orchestra. He regularly runs master classes in Oslo, Los Angeles, and San Diego. He also works on productions of Baroque operas and ballets.

Born in 1985, Robert Bachara started to play the violin at the age of eight. He studied at the Academy of Music in Wrocław and took part in master classes with Ida Haendel, Grigorij Żyslin and Jadwiga Kaliszewskiej. He also studied the historical principles of violin playing with Sirkka-Liisa Kaakinen-Pilch in Krakow. His fields of interest include early music and solo violin music. In his recitals, Robert wishes to present the violin as a self-sufficient instrument that can meet the requirements of early and contemporary music. Performing early music, Robert Bachara takes on a number of non-standard challenges. He chooses a particularly demanding repertoire, i.e. performs the entire Biber’s ‘Rosary Sonatas’ in a single concert and holds his violin in a historical position, i.e. at his chest and not his collar-bone.

A player of double bass and the viola da Gamba. Graduate of Akademia Muzyczna of Katowice, Poland, and of Universität Mozarteum in Salzburg. A laureate of the ‘Młoda Polska’ scholarship from the Polish Ministry of Culture and National Heritage and of Polish and international bass competitions. He is active on both the Polish and the international concert scene as a soloist and as a member of chamber groups and orchestras. Involved with the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra in Katowice, and a member of numerous chamber and early music ensembles, including: {oh!} Orkiestra Historyczna, Extempore, Gambasada, Ensemble Reversio and Ensemble Chimérique, of which he is the founder. His past involvements included Kwartet Śląski, Capella Cracoviensis and the AUKSO Chamber Orchestra of the City of Tychy. Krzysztof Firlus teaches a viola da Gamba class at the Akademia Muzyczna in Katowice and a bass class at Academy of Music in Krakow, Poland.

A musician and multi-instrumentalist specialising in performing on period winds. Apart from recorder and transverse flute, he also plays the shawm, bagpipes and dulcian. He dedicates himself to the traditional repertoire as well as music spanning from the mediaeval period until contemporary times. He has co-operated with numerous period and ethical music ensembles and has recorded over 30 CDs. Founder and leader of the Orkiestra Czasów Zarazy (Orchestra in Time of Plague), Dancerye, Open Folk and Yełdyryn ensembles, he is also a co-founder of a Renaissance transverse flute quartet Epithalamion. He participates in a Polish-Scandinavian musical project Paths of Dance, rediscovering the common roots of Polish and Swedish traditional music. Paweł Iwaszkiewicz runs master classes for recorder and medieval reeds. He also writes music for theatre.

Orchestra in the Time of Plague was created as an attempt to recover George Phillip Telemann’s Polish music from his own notes. The German composer developed close links with Poland. When touring the country, he noted his observations on Polish dances and music performed in inns and at court. Telemann’s manuscript with notes on the music dating from 1717–1722 was discovered in 1987. His manuscripts and Polish-style dances are the main elements of the ensemble’s repertoire. Their live performances include improvisations that capture the spirit of the old times. The name of the ensemble refers to the tragic times of early 18th century Poland, which saw Polish musical culture developing amid wars and epidemics.