Concentus Musicus Wien

History

Nikolaus Harnoncourt and Alice Harnoncourt co-founded the ensemble in 1953 with several musicians from the Vienna Symphony Orchestra. After four years of research and rehearsal, the group gave its first public concert in May 1957 at the Schwarzenberg Palace in Vienna, though an unofficial debut had occurred in 1954 at the Konzerthaus with Monteverdi's Orfeo. The ensemble presented a regular concert series at the Schwarzenberg Palace from 1958 to 1962.

Its formal debut in the Mozart-Saal of the Vienna Konzerthaus took place in February 1962, and concerts there continued until 1971. The first opera staged by the ensemble was Monteverdi's Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria at the 1971 Wiener Festwochen. The first concert at the Musikverein occurred in 1973, and performances there have continued regularly since. Nikolaus Harnoncourt directed from the cello until 1987, then led as conductor and artistic director.

The ensemble has performed at festivals in Salzburg, Lucerne, and the styriarte festival in Graz, which Harnoncourt founded. The CMW first toured North America in 1966, including its Boston debut for the Peabody Mason Concert series, with subsequent American tours in 1968 and 1971. Nikolaus Harnoncourt retired from the ensemble and conducting in December 2015, and Alice Harnoncourt retired concurrently. Erich Höbarth succeeded Alice Harnoncourt as concertmaster, Stefan Gottfried succeeded Nikolaus Harnoncourt as artistic leader, and Maximilian Harnoncourt, grandson of the founders, serves as manager.

Recordings

The ensemble's first recording, music for viols by Henry Purcell, was made in 1962 for Telefunken, beginning a long relationship with that label (later Teldec) that continued into the 1990s. A major project was participation in the complete cycle of Bach cantatas from 1971 to 1990, split between the ensemble under Harnoncourt and Gustav Leonhardt with the Leonhardt-Consort. The ensemble also recorded for Deutsche Harmonia Mundi and Sony Classical. The final commercial recordings with Nikolaus Harnoncourt were Beethoven's 4th and 5th Symphonies and the Missa solemnis, the latter being his final recording.

Did You Know?

• The CMW's first public concert was in May 1957 at the Schwarzenberg Palace in Vienna, but an unofficial debut had already taken place in 1954 at the Konzerthaus with Monteverdi's Orfeo.
• The CMW's first recording in 1962 was music for viols by Henry Purcell for the Telefunken label.
• Nikolaus Harnoncourt's final recording was Beethoven's Missa solemnis, made with the CMW.