On Monday December 8, already the second concert of the series of the Early Music Department of Folkwang University will take place! Students of all classes will present themselves in chamber music works by Telemann, Vivaldi, Benda and others. This time, the program also features the recently rediscovered keyboard works by Johann Sebastian Bach! The concert will take place at the usual venue of the auditory of Campus Duisburg.

On Sunday December 7th, I will lead Folkwang Baroque in an exciting program of early 17th century Venetian ensemble Sonatas. Adventurous music for strings, recorder and basso continuo, composed by Dario Castello, Giovanni Picchi and Giovanni Valentini. The concert starts at 16:00 hours at the usual venue of the splendid concert hall of the Folkwang University of the Arts - Campus Duisburg. More info about this concert you can find here.

The start of the 2026 cycle of MusicMosaic is announced! The first stage will take place from 6-12 February 2026, in Weimar. MusicMosaic workshops are based on an innovative interdisciplinary concept, which combines ensemble music (Renaissance Consort) with historical dance, theatrical gestures, period architecture and art history. Further stages are again envisaged, and will be announced through the MusicMosaic website. Amazingly, the upcoming February stage of MusicMosaic is offered entirely free of charge!! Please email directly to me for more infos.

After last year's workshop on the six solo sonatas by Giovanni Battista Fontana, we will dedicate ourselves to the study and performance of the very influential sonatas by Dario Castello, who was a musician in service of the Venetian Republic at the time that Claudio Monteverdi headed the Ducal Chapel at St.Mark's Basilica. We will mainly focus on Dario Castello's ensemble sonatas from his second book 'Sonate concertate in stilo moderno', but also take a closer look at the famous 'sonata seconda' for solo violin. If you are curious to find out what exactly is modern in Castello's sonatas: the workshop will take place from 12-14 November 2025, at Folkwang University - Campus Duisburg.

This wintersemester at Folkwang University of the Arts is again packed with many exciting events, organised by our Early Music Department. On Monday November 3, Prof. Christian Rieger kicks off with a lecture about the influence of J.S. Bach on the music of Robert Schumann, followed by several concerts and workshops later in the semester, for instance of our orchestra Folkwang Barock. On Sunday December 7, I will be leading this ensemble in an adventurous program with Venetian early baroque music, by Dario Castello, Giovanni Picchi and Giovanni Valentini. As usual, all events will take place in the wonderful concert hall of Campus Duisburg. Please, check this link for more details about the events.

On Wednesday October 22nd, I will participate in a lecture by Dr. Dina Titan. We will discuss the famous tutor 'Opera intitulata Fontegara', published by Sylvestro Ganassi in 1535. This time, we will approach the treatise from the viewpoint of a researcher, and survey the impact this particular stance has for the performance of the specific musical style that is proposed by Ganassi, as well as the general understanding of instrumental ornamentation in the Renaissance period. The lecture is part of a very diverse series of weekly lectures at Folkwang University, and will take place in Campus Essen (18:15 - 19:45 hours, Room W110)). More about my lifelong fascination for this unique treatise (the first ever printed tutor for my instrument!) you can find elsewhere on this website.

This summer, I will be conducting two masterclasses about performance practice of Italian Renaissance Music. Weimar (Germany) is the place to be from 18-23 July, followed by a second stage on location, 7-12 September in Vicenza (Italy). Concerts are planned in Weimar, Vicenza and Venice. Together with illustrious specialists such as Bernd Niedecken (historical dance) and Alberto Allegrezza (singing, gesture and theater), I will be focusing on 16th century polyphonic madrigals that were written by composers that are linked to Vicenza, for instance Maddalena Casulana, Ippolito Chamaterò, Leone Leoni, Jan (Giovanni) Nasco and, ofcourse, Nicola Vicentino. These workshops are part of an innovative annual cycle that aims to integrate performance practice with historical dance, gesture, poetry and theater. The classes and concerts will take place in beautiful period architecture, as for instance the historic ballroom 'Schiesshaus' (Weimar), designed by Goethe after Italian models, and Andrea Palladio's (very first!) villa Godi-Malinverni (Vicenza). And, last but certainly not least, the course fees are kept very friendly indeed! You can check out all details and apply here.

The annual concertseries 'Sound-landscape Prignitz' will kick off on saturday March 22nd. The events, lasting all spring and summer, highlight different locations in the Prignitz region of Germany (near Berlin), and promise to be as exciting as ever. On Friday July 11, I will be contributing a program dedicated to the songs and motets of the Renaissance composer Gregor Lange, who was born in the neighboring town of Havelberg. Already highly esteemed by his contemporaries, his reputation reached well into the 19th century. Curious to discover (t)his special music? For more information, click this link. 

On Monday June 23, 19:30 hours, the sixth and last concert of the annual Folkwang Early Music Concert Series will take place at the usual venue of the splendid Chamber music hall at Campus Duisburg of Folkwang University (Düsseldorfer Str. 19, 47051 Duisburg). Tickets can be ordered via Folkwang Ticket Hotline (+49 2014903-231) or per email (karten@folkwang-uni.de).

On Monday May 19th, 19:30 hours, the fifth concert of the annual Folkwang Early Music Concert Series will take place at the usual venue of the splendid Chamber music hall at Campus Duisburg of Folkwang University (Düsseldorfer Str. 19, 47051 Duisburg). Tickets can be ordered via Folkwang Ticket Hotline (+49 2014903-231) or per email (karten@folkwang-uni.de).

On Monday April 28, 19:30 hours, the fourth concert of the annual Folkwang Early Music Concert Series will take place at the usual venue of the splendid Chamber music hall at Campus Duisburg of Folkwang University (Düsseldorfer Str. 19, 47051 Duisburg). Tickets can be ordered via Folkwang Ticket Hotline (+49 2014903-231) or per email (karten@folkwang-uni.de).

On Friday 25 April, 19:30 hours, I will perform a solo concerto by J.S. Bach (arrangement of BWV 1032) and Bach's own adaptation for harpsichord (BWV 1057) of his beloved fourth Brandenburg Concerto. Playing along with me is the ensemble Folkwang Barock, directed by the wonderful violinist Midori Seiler. Previous to the concert, at 18:00 hours, the eminent Bach-connoisseur Prof. Dr. Michael Maul (Leipzig) will share his views on various aspects of the program. The event is part of Focus Bach, an exciting annual festival that takes place in Duisburg in the spring. Tickets can be ordered via Folkwang Ticket Hotline (+49 2014903-231) or per email (karten@folkwang-uni.de).