Andreas Scholl

»Ethereal yet full of emotion, Scholl's voice is ideal for Purcell . . . exquisitely sensitive to poetic language . . .« BBC Music Magazine (London), January 2011 (Review of the CD O Solitude) »Andreas Scholl has the most cultivated countertenor voice in the world. And during his three Handel arias, the approximately 6,000 listeners barely dared to breathe.« Richard Morrison in The Times (2005, review of the »Last Night of the Proms«) Andreas Scholl was born in Eltville in the Rheingau. Both parents were singers, and he received his first musical training with the Kiedricher Chorbuben. He later studied with Richard Levitt and René Jacobs at the renowned Schola Cantorum Basiliensis. In 1999, he received the Echo Prize and the Prix de l’Union de la Presse Musicale Belge (»Young Singer of the Year«), in 1996 the Baroque Vocal Prize at the Gramophone Awards, and in 2002 the Edison Prize in the Medieval/Renaissance category for his recording of A Musicall Banquet. 1988 Sings in Bach's Christmas Oratorio in Rüdesheim 1991 Bach's St. John Passion under Philippe Herreweghe in Antwerp; German Baroque songs at the Schubertiade in Schwarzenberg 1992 Bach Cantatas at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London 1993 Bach's St. John Passion in Paris 1994 Oratorios by Bach in Antwerp (with Herreweghe), Milan, and at the BBC Proms; Handel in Monte Carlo (with Biondi) and at the Beaune Festival; Monteverdi Vespers under René Jacobs in Tokyo 1995 Bach's Mass in B minor under Jacobs; Purcell on tour in France 1996 Bach in Lucerne, at the BBC Proms (Herreweghe), in Baltimore (van Veldhoven) and Berlin (Akademie für Alte Musik); Handel and Bach at the BBC Proms (Jacobs) 1998 Opera debut in Handel's Rodelinda (Christie) at the Glyndebourne Festival; Handel's Solomon at the BBC Proms; Bach's St. Matthew Passion in Milan and Antwerp; Recitals at Wigmore Hall and the Brighton Festival 1999 Release: Handel's Solomon with Paul McCreesh and Gabrieli Consort & Players (Deutsche Grammophon); also first releases under his new contract with Decca: Heroes with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment under Norrington and Pergolesi's Stabat Mater with Les Talens Lyriques under Rousset 2000 Highlights of the year include concert tours throughout Europe with the Heroes program; Bach's Mass in B minor in Germany and on tour in Japan; St. John Passion in the USA (Herreweghe). Releases: Vivaldi with the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra under Paul Dyer; Robert Dowland's A Musicall Banquet (Edison Prize 2002) 2001 On tour in Europe and the USA with the programs of A Musicall Banquet and Wayfaring Stranger; Handel's Saul (Jacobs) in Brussels; Solomon (McCreesh) in Paris, Lucerne, and Cologne. Performances at the Schubertiade in Schwarzenberg, the BBC Proms, and the festivals in Beaune, Ravinia, and Tanglewood. Release: Wayfaring Stranger, folk songs with Edin Karamazov and the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra 2002 Special highlights of the year are the Handel performances: the title role in Giulio Cesare (Mortensen) at the Royal Opera in Copenhagen and at the Bergen Festival; Rodelinda (Christie) at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris; Saul (McCreesh) throughout Europe 2003 Australia tour (Dyer); performances with the Boston Symphony Orchestra (Koopman) and the Kammerorchester Basel (Ottavio Dantone) as well as at Carnegie Hall with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s (Koopman); recitals with English lute songs in London and Cologne. Release: Arcadia with the Accademia Bizantina under Dantone 2004 European tour with the Arcadia program (Dantone); Messiah in Los Angeles (Labadie); performances at the Göttingen Handel Festival, festivals in Stockholm, Bath, and Beaune, as well as at the Schubertiade in Schwarzenberg and the Trigonale Festival of Early Music. Handel's Saul (Gabrieli Consort/McCreesh) released on Deutsche Grammophon 2005 Giulio Cesare in Copenhagen; »The Renaissance Muse« in New York and London; European tour with Senesino arias (Dantone); performances at the Schubertiade in Schwarzenberg, at the Aldeburgh and Beaune Festivals, the Trigonale Festival, and the »Last Night of the Proms«. Release: Arias for Senesino with the Accademia Bizantina under Dantone (Classical Brit Awards 2006, »Singer of the Year«) 2006 Handel's Rodelinda at the Met in New York; Giulio Cesare (Rousset) in Paris, Rome, and Madrid; Dowland recital on Australian tour (with lutenist Crawford Young) 2007 European tour with the program »Crystal Tears« (English consort songs); Messiah (Berlin Philharmonic/Christie) at the Berlin Philharmonie; Pergolesi's Stabat Mater in Vienna and Salzburg; Handel in Dublin, Belfast, and Portugal; Vivaldi and Handel in Israel; birthday concert for William Lyne at Wigmore Hall; performances at the festivals in Salzburg, Edinburgh, Santander, and Beaune 2008 Handel's Partenope (Mortensen) in Copenhagen; Giulio Cesare (Dantone) in Lausanne; Senesino concerts at the Salzburg and Dresden Festivals (Dantone) as well as in Sydney (Dyer); »Portrait of a Baroque Countertenor« (Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, with James Bowman) throughout Europe; Messiah (Koopman) in New York 2009 European tour with the program »Oswald von Wolkenstein«; USA tour with the Australian Chamber Orchestra (Handel arias); European tour with the Kammerorchester Basel (Vivaldi); concerts with the Boston Handel and Haydn Society as well as with Les Violons du Roi/Labadie in Quebec and Montreal; with the Ensemble Instrumental Colombiano in Bogotá. Releases: The Lute Is a Song with Edin Karamazov; Handel's Partenope from the Royal Opera in Copenhagen on DVD 2010 Giulio Cesare (Christie, with Cecilia Bartoli) in Paris; St. John Passion in Munich (Koopman) and at St. Thomas Church in Leipzig; the program »Oswald von Wolkenstein« at the Barbican Centre in London, in Liverpool and Zurich; Purcell with Philippe Jaroussky and Ensemble Artaserse in London, Paris, and Brussels as well as with the Accademia Bizantina at the Beaune Festival; Handel with the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra and the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin; Mozart and Gluck with the Freiburger Barockorchester under Jacobs in Salzburg; recitals with lutenist Edin Karamazov in China and with pianist/harpsichordist Tamar Halperin on an Asian tour, in Istanbul and at the Schubertiade in Schwarzenberg. Release on Decca: O Solitude, a solo album with works by Purcell with the Accademia Bizantina 2011 Handel's Rodelinda at the Met; Bach's Mass in B minor under René Jacobs in Leipzig and Zurich; Purcell concerts with the Accademia Bizantina in Birmingham, Manchester, Munich, Cologne, Hanover, Berlin, Vienna, and Ljubljana as well as with The English Concert and Harry Bicket in the USA; in March, tour of Australia and New Zealand; Italian Baroque cantatas in Israel with the Tel Aviv Soloists; recitals with pianist/harpsichordist Tamar Halperin in Barcelona, at London's Wigmore Hall, and at the Bergen and Rheingau Festivals 2012 Concerts with the »Wolkenstein« program in the Netherlands and Belgium with the Ensemble Shield of Harmony; Bach Cantatas in London, Birmingham, Amsterdam, and Lisbon with the Kammerorchester Basel; Bach's St. John Passion on European tour with Le Concert Lorrain and Christoph Prégardien as well as Giulio Cesare with Cecilia Bartoli and Il Giardino Armonico at the Salzburg Easter and Summer Festivals. Decca releases on CD: Bach Cantatas Nos. 82 and 169 with the Kammerorchester Basel as well as Wanderer, a recital album with songs by Mozart, Haydn, Schubert, and Brahms, accompanied by pianist Tamar Halperin (tour with this program in Europe and the USA); and on DVD/Blu-ray: Handel's Rodelinda with Renée Fleming from the Met 2013 Planned are Bach's St. Matthew Passion with Stephen Cleobury and the King’s College Choir, Bach Cantatas in Vienna with Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Pergolesi's Stabat Mater in Lucerne with soprano Elisabeth Scholl and La Scintilla, as well as further recitals with pianist Tamar Halperin throughout Europe 7/2012