Thomas Hengelbrock
Encyclopedia
Thomas Hengelbrock is a German
violinist, musicologist, stage director and conductor
.
and Freiburg im Breisgau. He worked as an assistant to Witold Lutosławski, Mauricio Kagel
and Antal Doráti
and played with ensembles such as Concentus Musicus Wien
under Nikolaus Harnoncourt
. In 1985 he cofounded the Freiburger Barockorchester
where he worked as a violinist and a conductor.
Thomas Hengelbrock founded in Freiburg the Balthasar-Neumann Choir in 1991 and in 1995 the orchestra Balthasar-Neumann Ensemble to perform works from Baroque to contemporary music in Historically informed performance
s, such as Verdi's operas Rigoletto
and Falstaff
at the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden
in 2004 and 2007.
He was the conductor of the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen from 1995 to 1999, and musical director of the Volksoper Wien
from 2000 to 2003. In 2001 he founded the "Feldkirch Festival" in Feldkirch, Vorarlberg
, and served as its artistic director until 2006.
He has been invited as conductor of such international orchestras as the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra
, the Munich Philharmonic, and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe
.
Hengelbrock made his debut at the Bayreuth Festival
conducting Wagner's Tannhäuser
in 2011.
He succeeded Christoph von Dohnányi
as principal conductor of the NDR Symphony Orchestra
in 2011.
Thomas Hengelbrock created "Ekklesiastische Aktion" with music of Bernd Alois Zimmermann
, György Ligeti
and Johann Sebastian Bach
. He has collaborated with composers such as Jan Müller-Wieland
, Qigang Chen
, Erkki-Sven Tüür
and Simon Wills.
He staged himself opera productions with his Balthasar-Neumann-Chor and Ensemble, such as Mozart's Don Giovanni
for the Feldkirch Festival 2006 or Il re pastore
for the Salzburg Festival
2006.
In a collaboration with Pina Bausch
he conducted Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice
in Paris in 2005; the Balthasar-Neumann-Chor, Ensemble and the Ballet de l'Opéra de Paris performed it in the Palais Garnier
; in 2008 they performed it also in the ancient Greek theatre in Epidaurus
. The performance is recorded on DVD.
In 2008 he performed at the Konzerthaus Dortmund Weber's Der Freischütz
with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra
. Later it was also staged in Baden-Baden by Bob Wilson
, and Bach's Mass in B minor with the Balthasar-Neumann-Ensemble.
In June 2010 he performed in Dortmund Bellini's opera Norma
with Cecilia Bartoli
who sang the title role for the first time.
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
violinist, musicologist, stage director and conductor
Conducting
Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble...
.
Biography
Thomas Hengelbrock studied the violin with Rainer Kussmaul and started his career in WürzburgWürzburg
Würzburg is a city in the region of Franconia which lies in the northern tip of Bavaria, Germany. Located at the Main River, it is the capital of the Regierungsbezirk Lower Franconia. The regional dialect is Franconian....
and Freiburg im Breisgau. He worked as an assistant to Witold Lutosławski, Mauricio Kagel
Mauricio Kagel
Mauricio Kagel was a German-Argentine composer. He was notable for his interest in developing the theatrical side of musical performance .-Biography:...
and Antal Doráti
Antal Doráti
Antal Doráti, KBE was a Hungarian-born conductor and composer who became a naturalized American citizen in 1947.-Biography:...
and played with ensembles such as Concentus Musicus Wien
Concentus Musicus Wien
Concentus Musicus Wien is a baroque music ensemble founded by Nikolaus and Alice Harnoncourt in 1953. It generated the now well-established movement in performance and recordings to play early music on period instruments....
under Nikolaus Harnoncourt
Nikolaus Harnoncourt
Nikolaus Harnoncourt is an Austrian conductor, particularly known for his historically informed performances of music from the Classical era and earlier. Starting out as a classical cellist, he founded his own period instrument ensemble in the 1950s, and became a pioneer of the Early Music movement...
. In 1985 he cofounded the Freiburger Barockorchester
Freiburger Barockorchester
Freiburger Barockorchester is a German orchestra founded in 1987, with the mission statement: "to enliven the world of baroque music with new sounds"...
where he worked as a violinist and a conductor.
Thomas Hengelbrock founded in Freiburg the Balthasar-Neumann Choir in 1991 and in 1995 the orchestra Balthasar-Neumann Ensemble to perform works from Baroque to contemporary music in Historically informed performance
Historically informed performance
Historically informed performance is an approach in the performance of music and theater. Within this approach, the performance adheres to state-of-the-art knowledge of the aesthetic criteria of the period in which the music or theatre work was conceived...
s, such as Verdi's operas Rigoletto
Rigoletto
Rigoletto is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the play Le roi s'amuse by Victor Hugo. It was first performed at La Fenice in Venice on March 11, 1851...
and Falstaff
Falstaff (opera)
Falstaff is an operatic commedia lirica in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi, adapted by Arrigo Boito from Shakespeare's plays The Merry Wives of Windsor and scenes from Henry IV. It was Verdi's last opera, written in the composer's ninth decade, and only the second of his 26 operas to be a comedy...
at the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden
Festspielhaus Baden-Baden
The Festspielhaus Baden-Baden is Germany's largest opera house and concert hall with 2,500 seats.Opened on April 18, 1998, the new building's architecture incorporates the former central train station of Baden-Baden which, today, is the ticket sales hall and the Festspielhaus restaurant "Aida"...
in 2004 and 2007.
He was the conductor of the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen from 1995 to 1999, and musical director of the Volksoper Wien
Vienna Volksoper
The Vienna Volksoper is a major opera house in Vienna, Austria. It gives about three hundred performances of twenty-five productions during an annual season running from September through June....
from 2000 to 2003. In 2001 he founded the "Feldkirch Festival" in Feldkirch, Vorarlberg
Feldkirch, Vorarlberg
- Schools :* Bundesgymnasium und Bundesrealgymnasium Feldkirch * Bundeshandelsakademie und Bundeshandelsschule Feldkirch* Bundesoberstufenrealgymnasium und Bundesrealgymnasium Schillerstrasse...
, and served as its artistic director until 2006.
He has been invited as conductor of such international orchestras as the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra
Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra
The Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, in German Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks is the internationally renowned orchestra of the Bayerischer Rundfunk , based in Munich, Germany. It is one of the three principal orchestras in the city of Munich, along with the Munich Philharmonic...
, the Munich Philharmonic, and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe
Chamber Orchestra of Europe
The Chamber Orchestra of Europe , established in 1981, is administratively based in London. The orchestra comprises about 60 members coming from across Europe. The players pursue parallel careers as international soloists, members of eminent chamber groups, and as tutors and professors of music...
.
Hengelbrock made his debut at the Bayreuth Festival
Bayreuth Festival
The Bayreuth Festival is a music festival held annually in Bayreuth, Germany, at which performances of operas by the 19th century German composer Richard Wagner are presented...
conducting Wagner's Tannhäuser
Tannhäuser (opera)
Tannhäuser is an opera in three acts, music and text by Richard Wagner, based on the two German legends of Tannhäuser and the song contest at Wartburg...
in 2011.
He succeeded Christoph von Dohnányi
Christoph von Dohnányi
Christoph von Dohnányi is a German conductor of Hungarian ancestry.- Youth and World War II :Dohnányi was born in Berlin, Germany to jurist Hans von Dohnányi and Christine Bonhoeffer. His uncle on his mother's side was Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a Lutheran pastor and theologian/ethicist...
as principal conductor of the NDR Symphony Orchestra
North German Radio Symphony Orchestra
The North German Radio Symphony Orchestra is a German orchestra, the symphony orchestra of the Norddeutscher Rundfunk in Hamburg....
in 2011.
Special projects
For the EXPO 2000Expo 2000
Expo 2000 was a World's Fair held in Hanover, Germany from Thursday, June 1 to Tuesday, October 31, 2000. It was located on the Hanover fairground , which is famous for hosting CeBIT...
Thomas Hengelbrock created "Ekklesiastische Aktion" with music of Bernd Alois Zimmermann
Bernd Alois Zimmermann
Bernd Alois Zimmermann was a post-WWII West German composer. He is perhaps best known for his opera Die Soldaten which is regarded as one of the most important operas of the 20th century...
, György Ligeti
György Ligeti
György Sándor Ligeti was a composer of contemporary classical music. Born in a Hungarian Jewish family in Transylvania, Romania, he briefly lived in Hungary before becoming an Austrian citizen.-Early life:...
and Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...
. He has collaborated with composers such as Jan Müller-Wieland
Jan Müller-Wieland
Jan Müller-Wieland is a German composer and conductor of classical music and an academic teacher. He is known for his operas.-Professional career:...
, Qigang Chen
Qigang Chen
Qigang Chen is a composer of Chinese origin born in 1951 in Shanghai. He has lived in France since 1984, and obtained French nationality in 1992....
, Erkki-Sven Tüür
Erkki-Sven Tüür
Erkki-Sven Tüür is an Estonian composer.Tüür was born in Kärdla on the Estonian island of Hiiumaa. He studied flute and percussion at the Tallinn Music School from 1976 to 1980 and composition with Jaan Rääts at the Tallinn Academy of Music and privately with Lepo Sumera from 1980 to 1984...
and Simon Wills.
He staged himself opera productions with his Balthasar-Neumann-Chor and Ensemble, such as Mozart's Don Giovanni
Don Giovanni
Don Giovanni is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and with an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It was premiered by the Prague Italian opera at the Teatro di Praga on October 29, 1787...
for the Feldkirch Festival 2006 or Il re pastore
Il re pastore
Il re pastore is an opera, K. 208, written by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Metastasio, edited by Gianbattista Varesco. It is an opera seria...
for the Salzburg Festival
Salzburg Festival
The Salzburg Festival is a prominent festival of music and drama established in 1920. It is held each summer within the Austrian town of Salzburg, the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart...
2006.
In a collaboration with Pina Bausch
Pina Bausch
Philippina "Pina" Bausch was a German performer of modern dance, choreographer, dance teacher and ballet director...
he conducted Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice
Orfeo ed Euridice
Orfeo ed Euridice is an opera composed by Christoph Willibald Gluck based on the myth of Orpheus, set to a libretto by Ranieri de' Calzabigi. It belongs to the genre of the azione teatrale, meaning an opera on a mythological subject with choruses and dancing...
in Paris in 2005; the Balthasar-Neumann-Chor, Ensemble and the Ballet de l'Opéra de Paris performed it in the Palais Garnier
Palais Garnier
The Palais Garnier, , is an elegant 1,979-seat opera house, which was built from 1861 to 1875 for the Paris Opera. It was originally called the Salle des Capucines because of its location on the Boulevard des Capucines in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, but soon became known as the Palais Garnier...
; in 2008 they performed it also in the ancient Greek theatre in Epidaurus
Epidaurus
Epidaurus was a small city in ancient Greece, at the Saronic Gulf. Two modern towns bear the name Epidavros : Palaia Epidavros and Nea Epidavros. Since 2010 they belong to the new municipality of Epidavros, part of the peripheral unit of Argolis...
. The performance is recorded on DVD.
In 2008 he performed at the Konzerthaus Dortmund Weber's Der Freischütz
Der Freischütz
Der Freischütz is an opera in three acts by Carl Maria von Weber with a libretto by Friedrich Kind. It premiered on 18 June 1821 at the Schauspielhaus Berlin...
with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra
Mahler Chamber Orchestra
The Mahler Chamber Orchestra is a professional touring chamber orchestra founded by Claudio Abbado and former members of the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra in 1997....
. Later it was also staged in Baden-Baden by Bob Wilson
Robert Wilson (director)
Robert Wilson is an American avant-garde stage director and playwright who has been called "[America]'s — or even the world's — foremost vanguard 'theater artist'". Over the course of his wide-ranging career, he has also worked as a choreographer, performer, painter, sculptor, video...
, and Bach's Mass in B minor with the Balthasar-Neumann-Ensemble.
In June 2010 he performed in Dortmund Bellini's opera Norma
Norma (opera)
Norma is a tragedia lirica or opera in two acts by Vincenzo Bellini with libretto by Felice Romani after Norma, ossia L'infanticidio by Alexandre Soumet. First produced at La Scala on December 26, 1831, it is generally regarded as an example of the supreme height of the bel canto tradition...
with Cecilia Bartoli
Cecilia Bartoli
Cecilia Bartoli is an Italian coloratura mezzo-soprano opera singer and recitalist. She is best-known for her interpretation of the music of Mozart and Rossini, as well as for her performances of lesser-known Baroque and classical music...
who sang the title role for the first time.
Selected recordings
- Festa teatrale : carnival in Venice & Florence - Pietro Antonio GiramoPietro Antonio GiramoPietro Antonio Giramo was an Italian baroque composer.His surviving works consist of two works in collections 1619, 1620, the Arie for several voices and a reprint of two cantatas; Il pazzo con la pazza and the Hospital for the hell of love .-References:...
, Giovanni LegrenziGiovanni LegrenziGiovanni Legrenzi was an Italian composer of opera, vocal and instrumental music, and organist, of the Baroque era...
, Claudio MonteverdiClaudio MonteverdiClaudio Giovanni Antonio Monteverdi – 29 November 1643) was an Italian composer, gambist, and singer.Monteverdi's work, often regarded as revolutionary, marked the transition from the Renaissance style of music to that of the Baroque period. He developed two individual styles of composition – the...
, Francesco LambardiFrancesco LambardiFrancesco Lambardi was a Neapolitan baroque composer who participated in the staging of feste a ballo with Giovanni Maria Trabaci. He was born in Naples.-References:...
, Diego OrtizDiego OrtizDiego Ortiz was a Spanish composer and musicologist, in service to the Spanish viceroy in Naples and later to Philip II of Spain. Ortiz published influential treatises on both instrumental and vocal performance....
, Orazio VecchiOrazio VecchiOrazio Vecchi was an Italian composer of the late Renaissance. He is most famous for his madrigal comedies, particularly L'Amfiparnaso.- Life :...
, Salamone RossiSalamone RossiSalamone Rossi or Salomone Rossi was an Italian Jewish violinist and composer. He was a transitional figure between the late Italian Renaissance period and early Baroque.-Life:...
, Tarquinio MerulaTarquinio MerulaTarquinio Merula was an Italian composer, organist, and violinist of the early Baroque era. Although mainly active in Cremona, stylistically he was a member of the Venetian school...
, Giovanni Giacomo GastoldiGiovanni Giacomo GastoldiGiovanni Giacomo Gastoldi , was an Italian composer of the late Renaissance and early Baroque periods. He is known for his 1591 publication of balletti for five voices.-Career:Gastoldi was born at Caravaggio, Lombardy...
- Balthasar-Neumann Choir, Balthasar-Neumann Ensemble, Deutsche Harmonia Mundi 2000 - Music For San Marco In Venice - Claudio MonteverdiClaudio MonteverdiClaudio Giovanni Antonio Monteverdi – 29 November 1643) was an Italian composer, gambist, and singer.Monteverdi's work, often regarded as revolutionary, marked the transition from the Renaissance style of music to that of the Baroque period. He developed two individual styles of composition – the...
, Giovanni GabrieliGiovanni GabrieliGiovanni Gabrieli was an Italian composer and organist. He was one of the most influential musicians of his time, and represents the culmination of the style of the Venetian School, at the time of the shift from Renaissance to Baroque idioms.-Biography:Gabrieli was born in Venice...
, Francesco CavalliFrancesco CavalliFrancesco Cavalli was an Italian composer of the early Baroque period. His real name was Pietro Francesco Caletti-Bruni, but he is better known by that of Cavalli, the name of his patron Federico Cavalli, a Venetian nobleman.-Life:Cavalli was born at Crema, Lombardy...
, Giovanni CroceGiovanni CroceGiovanni Croce was an Italian composer of the late Renaissance, of the Venetian School...
, Alessandro GrandiAlessandro GrandiAlessandro Grandi was a northern Italian composer of the early Baroque era, writing in the new concertato style...
, Biagio MariniBiagio MariniBiagio Marini was an Italian virtuoso violinist and composer of the first half of the seventeenth century.Marini was born in Brescia. His works were printed and influential throughout the European musical world...
, Claudio MeruloClaudio MeruloClaudio Merulo was an Italian composer, publisher and organist of the late Renaissance period, most famous for his innovative keyboard music and his ensemble music composed in the Venetian polychoral style. He was born in Correggio and died in Parma...
– Balthasar-Neumann Ensemble, Balthasar-Neumann Choir. - Aus der Notenbibliothek von Johann Sebastian Bach Vol. 1 (From the music library of Johann Sebastian Bach) – Tomaso AlbinoniTomaso AlbinoniTomaso Giovanni Albinoni was an Italian Baroque composer. While famous in his day as an opera composer, he is mainly remembered today for his instrumental music, such as the concertos, some of which are regularly recorded.-Biography:Born in Venice, Republic of Venice, to Antonio Albinoni, a...
, Francesco ContiFrancesco Bartolomeo ContiFrancesco Bartolomeo Conti was an Italian composer and player of the mandolin and theorbo.Little is known about the biography of Conti. He was born in Florence, Italy. By 1700 he was already known as a theorbist not only in his native Florence, but also in other cities such as Ferrara and Milan...
, Pietro LocatelliPietro LocatelliPietro Antonio Locatelli was an Italian composer and violinist.-Biography:Locatelli was born in Bergamo, Italy. A child prodigy on the violin, he was sent to study in Rome under the direction of Arcangelo Corelli...
, George Frideric HandelGeorge Frideric HandelGeorge Frideric Handel was a German-British Baroque composer, famous for his operas, oratorios, anthems and organ concertos. Handel was born in 1685, in a family indifferent to music...
, Johann Sebastian BachJohann Sebastian BachJohann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...
– Sibylla RubensSibylla Rubens- Biography :Sibylla Rubens studied voice at the Staatliche Musikhochschule in Trossingen and at the Hochschule für Musik in Frankfurt and in master classes with Edith Mathis....
, Balthasar-Neumann-Ensemble, Hänssler Classic, 2002 - From The Music Library Of Johann Sebastian Bach Vol. 2: Pachelbel, J. S. Bach, J. C. Kerll CD 2005
- Mozart: Il re pastore – Annette DaschAnnette DaschAnnette Dasch is a German soprano. She performs in operas and concerts.- Biography :Annette Dasch studied voice at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater München with Josef Loibl....
, Marlis PetersenMarlis PetersenMarlis Petersen is a German coloratura soprano, particularly known for her performances in the title role of Alban Berg's opera Lulu, and as Konstanze in The Abduction from the Seraglio and Zerbinetta in Ariadne auf Naxos....
, Krešimir Špicer, Arpiné Rahdjian, Andreas KarasiakAndreas Karasiak- Biography :Andreas Karasiak studied voice at the Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz with Claudia Eder. He studied Baroque music at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis with René Jacobs in Basel....
, Balthasar-Neumann-Ensemble, Deutsche Grammophon, DVD 2006
External links
- Thomas Hengelbrock website
- Thomas Hengelbrock on the website of bik, Büro für Internationale Kulturprojekte
- Thomas Hengelbrock on the website of the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen (2008)
- Thomas Hengelbrock and Balthasar-Neumann Ensembles on the website Kultur braucht Kultur (in German)
- Entries for recordings by Thomas Hengelbrock on WorldCatWorldCatWorldCat is a union catalog which itemizes the collections of 72,000 libraries in 170 countries and territories which participate in the Online Computer Library Center global cooperative...