born in Berlin in 1929, died in 2016, founded his early music ensemble, the Concentus Musicus, in 1953. He received numerous international awards as a conductor, including the Polar Music Prize and the Erasmus Prize.
The genius and his interpreter: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Nikolaus Harnoncourt in dialogue. This volume brings together Harnoncourt’s writings on Mozart, offering insights into the thinking and practice of a musician who fundamentally altered our approach to the great composer’s work. Harnoncourt helped to liberate Mozart’s music from the anachronistic ideas imposed on them and to make them accessible to contemporary listeners. He explains the various competing factors involved when performing historical music, as well as the challenges for interpreters and listeners. Drawing on his own experience, he reveals the complexities and dramatic tension of historical performance, aiding a deeper understanding of these timeless masterpieces.
One of the keys to Nikolaus Harnoncourt’s artistry was his ingenious talent for conveying musical content in verbal images. Author and choral singer Sabine M. Gruber – both a participant and an observer – kept a record of Harnoncourt’s rehearsal instructions in her notes for 30 years. Combining original quotes with essays, she sheds light on the personality of the man and artist, while exploring the essence of his musical and artistic process. A book full of humour, musical truth and essential wisdom.
The unique rationale behind Nikolaus Harnoncourt's practice of music brought him fame across the entire musical world. With his ensemble Concentus Musicus he broke established traditions and opened up new approaches to interpreting old music. This was in part the result of his intensive research into the sound produced by original period instruments, but more significantly came about as a consequence of questioning conventional hearing habits. What exactly is music? What effect does it have? And what were the intentions of its creators? Harnoncourt's writing on performance practices, baroque music and instruments such as the harpsichord reads like eloquent music making. A wondrous journey through the history of music.
Nikolaus Harnoncourt’s childhood and youth was shaped by hardship and the after-effects of World War II, the parenting codex of the aristocracy to which his family belonged and the love for music. The world was in upheaval, it was a time of great political and societal change. To give his children and grandchildren a greater understanding of this era Harnoncourt wrote down his memories and reflections in a “family book”. How did his family deal with the economic and political shifts? What was life like when everything was no longer what it had been? And what traditions shaped the Harnoncourt family? Nikolaus Harnoncourt’s personal account is a fascinating record of the past.
