Musica Antiqua Köln

In 1973, Reinhard Goebel, along with fellow students from the Cologne University of Music, founded Musica Antiqua Köln, initially dedicated to performing Baroque chamber and church music. The ensemble achieved international breakthrough in 1979 with a debut at London's Queen Elizabeth Hall and five concerts at the Holland Festival. At its tenth anniversary celebration, the ensemble performed for the first time with orchestral forces and increasingly featured repertoire works on recordings and in concert life. With its concertmaster Reinhard Goebel, the ensemble regularly toured the USA between 1981 and 1995, visited Australia and South America multiple times, and even traveled to the People's Republic of China in the Bach Year of 1985. Musica Antiqua Köln was awarded the Buxtehude Prize by the City of Lübeck, the Siemens Sponsorship Award, and the Sponsorship Award of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia. In 1981, the ensemble was named “Artist of the Year” by the Deutsche Phonoakademie. In November 1997, Reinhard Goebel received the State Prize of North Rhine-Westphalia for his "exemplary interpretations of familiar and unknown music of the 17th and 18th centuries with Musica Antiqua Köln*, founded in 1973, and his “stimulating research, conveying new insights, in the field of Baroque music, Rococo, and early Classicism.” Reinhard Goebel, born in Siegen in 1952, first studied at the Cologne University of Music with Franzjosef Maier after graduating from high school, later with Saschko Gawriloff at the Folkwangschule in Essen, followed by extensive courses with Eduard Melkus and several years of study with Marie Leonhardt. Musica Antiqua Köln and Reinhard Goebel have been recording exclusively for Archiv Produktion since 1978. The exquisite and unique selection of repertoire has always been highlighted by the awards the ensemble received for its recordings: Chamber Concertos by Telemann (Deutscher Schallplattenpreis 1981), German Chamber Music before Bach (Deutscher Schallplattenpreis 1982), the collection of works “The Bach Family before Johann Sebastian” (Grand Prix International du Disque 1987), Couperin's Les Nations (Grand Prix National du Disque 1984), Chamber Music by J.S. Bach (Gramophone Award 1984), Telemann's Tafelmusik (CD Compact Award 1990). Reinhard Goebel's recording series featuring music from Dresden reflects his fondness for the music and art history of this city. His recording of Heinichen's Dresden Concerti received five awards: Jahrespreis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik 1993, Gramophone Award 1993, Prix Caecilia 1993, Schallplattenpreis Echo-Klassik 1994, and CD Compact Award 1994. This was followed by recordings of overtures for the Saxon court by Francesco Maria Veracini, a collection titled Concerti “per l’orchestra di Dresda” with works by Heinichen, Veracini, Quantz, Dieupart, Pisendel, and Fasch, as well as recordings of sacred music by Heinichen and works by Johann Adolf Hasse. Musica Antiqua Köln recorded Handel's Marian Cantatas and Arias with Anne Sofie von Otter, which was awarded the CD Compact Award 1995 in the “Baroque Vocal” category. Furthermore, Archiv Produktion released a compilation of works for Parisian stages, Rebel's Les Elémens, Gluck's Ballet Alessandro, and Telemann's E minor Sonata (Choc de l=Année, France 1995). Their most recent releases include recordings of Chaconnes by Blow, Corelli, Lully, Mayr, Marini, Muffat, Pezel, and Purcell, Bach's Secular Cantatas BWV 201, 207, 206, and 36c, as well as Sonatae pro tabula by Biber, Schmelzer, Valentini, Pezel, and Bertali. In 1998, their recording of Biber's Missa Salisburgensis, made jointly with the Gabrieli Consort & Players, will be released, as well as a collection titled Lamenti e Cantate with music by Monteverdi, Bertali, Purcell, and Vivaldi featuring Anne Sofie von Otter. In the coming years, Musica Antiqua Köln will increasingly turn its attention to 17th-century music.