Nikolaus Harnoncourt

Lore & Background

Nikolaus Harnoncourt was an Austrian conductor and cellist who became a leading figure in the historically informed performance movement. He was born in Berlin in 1929 to an Austrian mother, a descendant of Holy Roman Emperors, and an Austrian engineer father. The family moved to Graz, Austria, in 1931, where Harnoncourt was raised. He studied cello and viola da gamba at the Vienna Music Academy. From 1952 to 1969, he played cello with the Vienna Symphony. In 1953, he founded the period-instrument ensemble Concentus Musicus Wien with his wife, Alice Hoffelner, dedicated to performing on original instruments. He initially played viola da gamba and cello with the group. Harnoncourt recorded a wide Baroque repertoire for Telefunken, including works by Purcell, Bach, Monteverdi, and Rameau. He left the Vienna Symphony to focus on conducting. In 1971, he began a joint project with Gustav Leonhardt to record all of Bach’s cantatas, a cycle completed in 1990. He also made historically informed recordings of Bach’s Mass in B minor and St Matthew Passion. Later, he conducted modern-instrument orchestras while retaining historical performance considerations, and expanded his repertoire to include Classical, early Romantic, and Viennese operetta works. He was a guest conductor of the Vienna Philharmonic and led the Vienna New Year’s Concert in 2001 and 2003. He debuted at the Salzburg Festival in 1992 and conducted major opera productions there. The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra named him Honorary Guest Conductor in 2000. Harnoncourt also authored several books on performance history and musical aesthetics.

Reader's Guide

Nikolaus Harnoncourt began his musical career as a cellist, performing with the Vienna Symphony from 1952 until 1969. In 1953, he founded the period-instrument ensemble Concentus Musicus Wien with his wife, Alice Hoffelner, initially playing both cello and viola da gamba. This ensemble became a pioneering force in the Early Music movement, dedicated to historically informed performance. For the Telefunken label, Harnoncourt recorded a wide range of Baroque repertoire, including works by Purcell, Bach, Monteverdi, and Rameau. A landmark project was his collaboration with conductor Gustav Leonhardt, begun in 1971, to record all of J.S. Bach’s cantatas, a cycle completed in 1990 that notably used an all-male choir and soloists except for two cantatas requiring a female soprano. He also made early historically informed recordings of Bach’s Mass in B minor and St Matthew Passion. Around 1970, Harnoncourt transitioned to conducting, making his opera debut at La Scala in the 1972/73 season. He later conducted major international symphony orchestras and appeared at leading venues and festivals, including the Salzburg Festival and the Vienna State Opera. He expanded his repertoire beyond Baroque music to include Classical and early Romantic works, as well as Viennese operetta, and made benchmark recordings of Beethoven’s symphonies with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe. Harnoncourt also conducted the Vienna Philharmonic’s New Year’s Concert in 2001 and 2003. He was the author of several books on performance history and musical aesthetics.

Did You Know?

• Harnoncourt conducted the 1974 recording of Mozart's Horn Concertos with Hermann Baumann and the Concentus Musicus Wien, using natural horns.
• Baumann was a regular hornist for Karl Richter and the Münchener Bach-Chor, a group Harnoncourt was associated with through the historically informed performance movement.
• The source mentions Harnoncourt's recording as a pioneering effort in the revival of natural horn performance.