Nikolaus Harnoncourt was born in Berlin in 1929 and grew up in Graz in Austria. He studied cello with Paul Grümmer and at the Vienna Musikhochschule under Emanuel Brabec. From 1952 – 1969 he was a member of the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, and at the same time he devoted himself to the study of historic performing practice from the Renaissance to the Classical era, and to the playing technique and tonal capabilities of early instruments. This interest led him to found the ensemble Concentus Musicus in 1953, which made its first public appearance four years later. Soon after, Harnoncourt and his ensemble released the first of many records covering the period 1200 – 1800. One of the cornerstones of their discography are the complete Bach cantatas, which he recorded together with Gustav Leonhardt in a project that spanned nearly 20 years. In the 1978/79 season Nikolaus Harnoncourt initiated his own Concentus Musicus concert series at Vienna's Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde, which he continues to conduct to this day.

In the early years of his career, Harnoncourt was seen as a specialist for Renaissance and Baroque music, a pigeon-holing that he didn't care for. Later on he made a name for himself with his readings of Classical and Romantic works. He has been appearing regularly since 1985 at the annual festival styriarte in Graz, which he also helps to plan. He has performed and recorded Haydn, Beethoven, Schumann, Schubert, Mendelssohn and Brahms cycles here together with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe.

Nikolaus Harnoncourt regularly guest-conducts other orchestras, mainly the Amsterdam Concertgebouw and the Vienna and Berlin Philharmonic orchestras. His first opera production dates from 1971, when he conducted Monteverdi's Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria at the Theater an der Wien, and soon after this he embarked on a fruitful cooperation with Jean-Pierre Ponnelle at the Zurich Opera. His acclaimed Monteverdi cycle (1975-79) made guest appearances in other major European cities such as Edinburgh, Milan, Vienna, Berlin and Munich, and was followed in 1980-87 by a cycle of Mozart operas. Harnoncourt has maintained his close connection with the Zurich Opera to this day. Elsewhere, he has conducted new productions of operas by Handel, Rameau, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Weber and Johann Strauss, many of which are available on record.

Both in opera and in the symphonic repertoire, Harnoncourt progressed as a conductor from Viennese classicism through the Romantic period to the 20th century. To cite just a few examples: his Mozart cycle at the Vienna State Opera, and the Salzburg Festival with Monteverdi's L'incoronazione di Poppea and Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro, Don Giovanni and La clemenza di Tito. In between, he returned time and again to Zurich, conducting Weber's Freischütz there, Des Teufels Lustschloss and Alfonso und Estrella by Schubert, Offenbach's La belle Hélène, La Périchole and La Grande-Duchesse de Gérolstein, and Verdi's Aida.

In the orchestral field, Nikolaus Harnoncourt built up and regularly rediscovered a large repertoire with four ensembles: the Amsterdam Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Vienna and the Berlin Philharmonic, and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe. This broad repertoire ranges from Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven through Schubert, Mendelssohn, Schumann, Brahms, Dvorák and Bruckner to 20th century composers like Bela Bartók and Alban Berg.

One of the central venues for many of these projects has been the music festival "styriarte", which was founded in Graz in 1985 with the aim of strengthening Harnoncourt's ties with his home town. It was here that he conducted for the first time Schumann's Genoveva, the Prelude and Liebestod from Wagner's Tristan und Isolde and, in 2001, the Verdi Requiem. 2003 saw his first opera production at the festival: Offenbach's La Grande-Duchesse de Gérolstein. Another highlight was the scenic production of Bizet's Carmen at the 2005 "styriarte".

Nikolaus Harnoncourt is also the author of highly-regarded books that have been translated into more than 20 languages. In these and in his teaching work, he endeavours to convey his views on the dialogue element in music. For 20 years he held a professorship at the Mozarteum College of Music in Salzburg, where he taught performing practice.

He has received numerous international awards for his work: Nikolaus Harnoncourt is an honorary member of the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde and the Konzerthausgesellschaft in Vienna (since 1992), he holds honorary doctorates from the University of Edinburgh, the College of Music and Dance in Cologne and the Mozarteum College of Music in Salzburg, and is an honorary member of the Graz and Vienna colleges of music. He was awarded the Ernst von Siemens Music Prize in 2002 and the Stockholm Polar Prize, and in 2005 he was honoured with the Kyoto Prize, the world's most important independent cultural award bestowed on outstanding international personalities from the arts and sciences.

There are nearly 500 recordings in Nikolaus Harnoncourt's discography, which have been awarded all the major international Classical prizes. In 2002 his recording of the St Matthew Passion garnered a Grammy award, then in 2006 his Messiah with the Concentus Musicus Wien (82876640702/dhm) was awarded the Echo Klassik prize. The year after that saw the release of Bach's Christmas Oratorio (88697333212/dhm), followed in 2008 by Robert Schumann's Das Paradies und die Peri (88697271552/RCA), which received the 2009 Echo Klassik prize as choral record of the year. In Haydn anniversary year 2009 he recorded The Seasons (88697281262/dhm) as well as a set of Bach cantatas (88697567942/dhm), and released a live recording of Gershwin's Porgy and Bess (88697591762/RCA) made at the "styriarte". Nikolaus Harnoncourt's reading of Brahms's Ein deutsches Requiem with the Vienna Philharmonic came out in March 2011.

The Royal Opera House in London's Covent Garden is home to The Royal Opera and The Royal Ballet.

ERWIN SCHROTT – Bass-baritone

Erwin Schrott is one of the most exciting singers of our time and is universally regarded as today’s finest exponent of the major Mozart roles of Don Giovanni, Leporello and Figaro.

Erwin Schrott was born in Montevideo, Uruguay, and made his operatic debut at the age of 22 as Roucher in Andrea Chénier. Soon after, Schrott skyrocketed to international fame, making debuts in one major opera house after the other in quick succession. He triumphed in theaters such as the Teatro alla Scala, the Metropolitan Opera in New York, the Opéra national de Paris, the Washington National Opera, the Vienna State Opera, the Teatro Colón of Buenos Aires, the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, the Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, the Hamburg State Opera, the Théâtre royal de la Monnaie in Brussels, the Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa, the Los Angeles Opera and many others. In the summer of 2008 he made his long-awaited debut at the Salzburg Festival as Leporello.

In recent seasons Erwin Schrott has sung Don Giovanni at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, the Teatro alla Scala, the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, the Washington Opera and the Los Angeles Opera, as well as in Seville and Turin and with the Metropolitan Opera on tour to Japan. He has performed the role of Figaro at the Metropolitan Opera, the Vienna State Opera, the Zurich Opera, Covent Garden and in Valencia. Other roles in his repertoire have included Pagano in Verdi’s I lombardi, the title role in Verdi’s Attila, Banquo in Macbeth and Escamillo in Carmen.

Upcoming engagements for 2011 include amongst others L’elisir d’amore at the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía in Valencia and Le nozze di Figaro at the Opéra national de Paris. During the summer of 2011 Erwin Schrott will again return to the Salzburg Festival, both as Leporello and in the title role of Le nozze di Figaro. In addition, he will perform alongside Anna Netrebko and Jonas Kaufmann in three major concert events in Germany and Austria in July and August 2011.

If today’s opera audience is getting younger, Erwin Schrott is one of the main reasons. His combination of Hollywood looks, genuine charisma and a magnificent voice will keep audiences talking about his performances for many years to come. Of his recent appearances in Le nozze di Figaro at Covent Garden, the London Times wrote: “For once, the critics were unanimous in their praise; Schrott’s performance was hailed as magnificent.”

The Mariinsky Theatre is one of the greatest world class music theatres based in St Petersburg and led by the Maestro Valery Gergiev. Mariinsky Opera, Mariinsky Ballet, Mariinsky Orchestra and Mariinsky Chorus — these are our artists that form the Mariinsky Theatre. The Mariinsky Label is our own record label.

Founded in 1891, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra is consistently hailed as one of the greatest orchestras in the world. In collaboration with the best conductors and guest artists on the international music scene, the CSO performs well over one hundred concerts each year at its downtown home, Symphony Center, and at the Ravinia Festival on Chicago’s North Shore, where it is in residency each summer. Music lovers outside Chicago enjoy the sounds of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra through best-selling recordings and frequent sold-out tour performances in the United States and around the globe.

Visit cso.org for tickets and information.

International Classical Artists has at its heart Van Walsum Management, a company established by Joeske van Walsum over thirty-five years ago.   With a wealth of existing expertise in the worldwide management of artists, orchestral touring and the development of innovative projects, International Classical Artists is now building on Van Walsum’s illustrious legacy.

Core values include a flexible approach, a boutique nature allowing dedicated personal service and the hand tailoring of work to suit clients' needs.  Our work encompasses every aspect of our artists’ professional lives.  We believe in forging collaborative and creative partnerships and represent some of the most significant and stimulating artists of today.

The discovery of new talent is essential to what we do, and for more than three decades we are proud to have introduced audiences to a number of artists who have gone on to earn international recognition.  Such artists include Yuri Bashmet, Mitsuko Uchida, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Mariss Jansons and many more.

Van Walsum also made its name, and won a number of awards for innovation, through enterprising projects such as the worldwide Ligeti Clocks and Clouds, with Salonen and the Philharmonia Orchestra, which set new industry standards.  Our appetite for presenting ambitious, cutting edge projects has continued with other such highlights including Magnus Lindberg’s Related Rocks; taking the Mariinsky Theatre’s Ring Cycle under the baton of its Artistic Director, Valery Gergiev, to Teatro Pérez Galdós in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria; and the Philharmonia Orchestra’s City of Dreams project – an award winning multi-disciplinary exploration into Viennese cultural life from 1900-1935 featuring Salonen, Uchida and Tetzlaff among others.

Stephen Wright acquired Van Walsum Management in September 2008 and set out to create a twenty-first century management agency that goes beyond the ‘booking agent’ of past decades to encompass total career planning, including the co-ordination of an artist’s audio and audiovisual recordings, broadcasts and the handling of digital rights as an essential part of the management process.   Under new leadership the company has gone from strength to strength, forging new collaborative partnerships with the industry-leading audio visual digital platform medici.tv whilst continuing to focus on excellence in its worldwide management of artists, orchestral touring and the development of innovative projects.

Based in Waterloo, London, International Classical Artists today represents some of the world’s leading artists, ensembles and orchestras and operates around the world.

JOSHUA BELL has enchanted audiences worldwide with his breathtaking virtuosity and tone of rare beauty. His restless curiosity and multifaceted musical interests have taken him in exciting new directions which have earned him the rare title of “classical music superstar.” Often referred to as the poet of the violin, Bell is the recipient of the Avery Fisher Prize and is the newly named Music Director of The Academy of St. Martin in the Fields. Bell first came to national attention at the age of 14 in a highly acclaimed orchestral debut with Riccardo Muti and the Philadelphia Orchestra. His Carnegie Hall debut and a recording contract further confirmed his presence in the music world. Today he is equally at home as a soloist, chamber musician, orchestra leader and composer who performs his own cadenzas to several of the major concerto repertoire. “Bell, Gramophone stated simply, is dazzling.”

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