Michi Gaigg (1st left)
about the
question:
How
do you know in music that something is typically Austrian?
“…
Sometimes I think that the more south you go the darker the colour sounds.
… Things turn to be more round. Maybe a bit more “sloppy”. The sound
becomes softer. … And to us Austrians this rhythmic perfection is a bit
missing. But we come from a waltz tradition where you have to feel free
within a bar. … Maybe this imparts to the sound a certain kind of
smoothness?? … And I think it is the same with dialects, wine and food.
Everywhere things sound and tast a bit different.” she answers with her
composed, charming and untranslatable Austrian accent.
(Interview
Toccata 17/2005)
Michi
Gaigg about the question:
Do
intuition and inner voice play an important role for your interpretations?
“…
I think in fine arts it is more important to affect than to impress. That
is why for me emotion and passion in music are the most important. For a
musician it means high satisfaction if he is able to affect his audience.
But you have to be touched yourself to touch others.”
(Interview Concerto 10/2003 )
is
one of the top orchestras in the field of historical performance practice.
A great joy of making music, a very light and dancing way of playing and
fresh verve are the special merits of the Austrian ensemble whose female
leader Michi Gaigg interprets well reflected and quite sensitive.
Especially works by composers from Central Europe are performed very
authentically by the ensemble. For 2007 the L’Orfeo Barockorchester
plans to present programmes around the French composer Rameau played on
historic instruments tuned in the deep original tuning
(392 Hz).
The L’Orfeo Barockorchester was founded in 1996. Since than it gave
concerts at renowned concert halls and famous festivals as Großer Saal
Musikverein Wien, Styriarte, Internationale Barocktage Stift Melk, Prager
Frühling, Tage Alter Musik Regensburg, Schwetzinger Festspiele,
Rheingau-Festival, Europäischen Festwochen Passau, Göttinger Händel-Festspiele,
Schleswig-Holstein Musikfestival. The orchestra works together with solo
singers like Nuria Rial, Emma Kirkby, Christoph Prégardien and
instrumentalists like the baroque violinist Elizabeth Wallfisch.
Both, organizers and audiences highly appreciate the orchestra’s request of creating a synthesis between repertoire and pioneer work, as nomerous awarded CDs do prove. The L’Orfeo Barockorchester likes to discover and perform works by wrongfully lost Austrian, Bohemian and South German composers. Especially French baroque music, works by Mozart, great 17th and 18th century instrumental and vocal compositions are part of the ensemble’s repertory.
Every member of the L’Orfeo Barockorchester has studied his instrument and is familiar with the historical performance practice, the average age is under thirty, about half of the members are from Austria, the other’s provenances are Netherlands, Germany, Czechia and Switzerland. Austrian Michi Gaigg is the orchestra’s first violinist and conductor. She studied violin at the Salzburg Mozarteum. Inspired by her first conctact with historical performance practice through Nikolaus Harnoncourt, she studied as well baroque violin with Ingrid Seifert and Sigiswald Kuijken. She then played with internationally renown ensembles like London Baroque, Orchestra of the 18th century and founded L’Arpa Festante Munic. She started teaching at the Conservatoire National Strasbourg and today teaches at the private university Anton Bruckner Linz within the branch of period music. She gives special courses for baroque violin, chamber and orchestra music. Michi Gaigg is the managing director of the Austrian Donau-Festwochen.
The
Austrian orchestra and its leader Michi Gaigg (violin) started the concert
with Johann Sebastian Bach's first Suite for orchestra. Here and also
after the intermission with the fifth Brandenburg Concerto, L'Orfeo proved
that it is one of the best Baroque orchestras today. Excellent
string playing, perfect blend of the winds, this is probably insurpassable.
from: Online Musik Magazin, Tage
Alter Musik Regensburg 16.05.2005
... the L'Orfeo
Barockorchester’s concert was a real treat for the ears. The
spirited orchestra and its equally brilliant conductor Michi Gaigg convey
the music's joyful drive. According to the requirements of the colourful
score Michi Gaigg deceicively demands courtly austerity, dancelike
playfulness or, by means of minimal gestures shaped the slow movement.
from: Passauer Neue Presse, Europäische Festwochen Passau 2005
Michi
Gaigg, conducting her L'Orfeo Barockorchester, inspires the musicians to
play impulsively, dramatically and with strong expression. The sounds
conjure up high spirits and emotion.
from: Oberösterreichische Nachrichten, Donau-Festwochen 2005, programme:
W. A. Mozart: Zaïde
Michi
Gaigg leading and conducting the ensemble as first violinist bestowed new
acoustic experience on Haydn's symphonies "Le matin" and
"Le soir". Mozart's "Eine kleine Nachtmusik" has probably
never before been played this absorbingly, sprightly and animatedly
...
from: Die kleine Zeitung, Styriarte - Die steirischen Festspiele 2004
... a Mozart taylored sharply
and full of passion.
from: Frankfurter Allgemeine
Zeitung
Minute details and finest quality in the string playing characterised
L'Orfeo's interpretation of Mozart's Symphony in g minor KV 550, here
presented in the clarinet version. A work often heard, yet appeared in
a completely new light.
from: Concerto - Das Magazin für Alte Musik, 53. Deutsches Mozartfest
Augsburg
The
pleasure was completed by L'Orfeo Barockorchester’s highly
differentiated play under Michi Gaigg. By this ensemble even Mozart's
first symphony was elevated to the nobility of a masterwork.
from: Stuttgarter Zeitung, Stuttgart Barock 2004
The
fact that some of the Holzbauer arias were deeply moving also had to do
with the outstanding and uncompromising interpretation by the L'Orfeo
Barockorchester …
from: Die Welt, Schwetzinger Festspiele 2003, programme: "Il figlio delle selve", Favola pastorale by Ignaz Holzbauer (1753) and orchestra concert "Mannheimer Schule" with works by Holzbauer, Fils, Dimler, Rosetti and Wagenseil
Michi
Gaigg about the question:
What
makes the difference of a deep tuning in 392 Hz?
“The sound becomes more sonor and passionate, an incredible roundness and richness of sound is created. The sound mixture between strings and wind instruments seems to be more intensive and sensory."
(conversation with Dr. Felicitas Graap )
4LE TRIOMPHE DE L'AMOUR 8 Tuning 392 Hz 7
4AMOR AND PSYCHE
4ARMIDA ABBANDONATA
4"... A REAL VIENNESE WILL NEVER GO DOWN ..."
4ZAÏDE (German Singspiel by Mozart)
4MOZART'S requiem
4"WITH PEACE AND JOY"
4CantatAS BY THE EARLY bach
4PASSION ST. JOHN
4CHRISTMAS ORATORIO
4DAS SELIGE ERWÄGEN
Discography
L'Orfeo Barockorchester:
produced
1996 / published 1997:
“Serenades Nr. 1 – 6“
Benedikt
Anton Aufschnaiter (1665 – 1742)
from
”Concors discordia“ (1695)
cpo
999457-2 (co-operation with WDR Köln, Westgerman broadcast station)
»
“Full
of spirits, with rhetoric aplomb and stunning dance like verve.”
(Concerto 9/1998)
production
1997 / published 1999:
“Fünf Sinfonien“
Georg
Christoph Wagenseil (1715 – 1777)
cpo
999450-2 (co-operation with SDR Stuttgart, Southgerman broadcast station)
»
“The
task was to discover an excellent composer having been degraded as boring.
… No other recording could have been more suitable for this purpose. …
Music from the pre-classical period can be rarely heard so rich in
dynamics, vivedly articulated and played with so much drive.”
(Fono Forum 7/1999)
produced
1998 / published 2000:
“Fünf Sinfonien“
Ignaz
Holzbauer (1711 – 1783)
cpo
999585-2 (co-operation with WDR Köln, Westgerman broadcast station)
»
“Conducted
and motivated by Michi Gaigg the L’Orfeo Barockorchester is playing at
its best.“
(Fono Forum 3/2000)
produced
1999 / published 2001
“Geistliche Konzerte“
Johann
Christian Bach (1735 – 1782)
Emma
Kirkby, soprano, Markus Schäfer, tenorus
cpo
999718-2
award:
Choc Musique
»
“Everthing
is interpreted with a slender sound, shaded articulation and unconceited
virtuosity. Now a convincing pleading for the catholic J. Chr. Bach is
available.”
(Klassik heute 7/2001)
produced
2000 / published 2001:
Anton
Fils (1733 – 1760)
cpo
999778-2 (co-operation with WDR Köln, Westgerman broadcast station)
»
“L’Orfeo
acts with stylistic sense, elegance and love for the music.“
(Klassik heute 7/2002)
produced
2001 / published 2002:
“Konzertarien für Tenor und Orchester“
Wolfgang
Amadeus Mozart (1756 – 1791)
Christoph
Prégardien, tenorus
cpo
999810-2 (co-operation with WDR Köln, Westgerman broadcast station)
awards:
Choc Musique and 1st price Pasicciopreis Radio Austria
»
“A
superbe recording of Mozart arias.“
(Salzburger Nachrichten 4/2003)
produced
2002 / published 2003:
”Symphonies“
Leopold
Mozart (1719 – 1787)
cpo
999942-2
»
“… an hour of most happy musical pastime: Michi Gaigg and her
L’Orfeo Barockorchester interpret full of temperament and virtuosity,
with fine phrasing or powerful play in the right moment, with original
sense for humor without being shy to play a burleske – and yet with
beautiful irony.“
(Klassik heute 2/2004)
produced
2002 / published 2004:
“Complete Violin Concertos Vol. 1”
Georg
Philipp Telemann (1681 – 1767)
Elizabeth
Wallfish, violin
cpo
999900-2
»
“L’Orfeo
and Elizabeth Wallfish do understand it in a very prosperous way to rouse
charme and human warmth in Telemann’s music.”
(Concerto 10/2004)
produced
2003 / published 2004:
“Symphonies, 5 Ouvertures“
Josef
Mysliveček
(1737 – 1781)
cpo
777050-2 (co-operation with WDR Köln, Westgerman broadcast station)
award:
Diapason 4
»
“...
Symphonies rousing all colours and forms like a sweet-smelling
summer-flower-meadow. … With verve L’Orfeo brings sound to jewels of
music ...“
(SWR CD-Tip 11/2004)
production
2004 / published 2005:
“Händel,
Aufschnaiter, Muffat”
Nuria
Rial, soprano
ORF
produced
2004:
“Tanzmusik“
Ludwig
van Beethoven (1770 – 1827)
cpo
produced
2004:
“Complete Violin Concertos Vol. 2”
Georg
Philipp Telemann (1681 – 1767)
Elizabeth
Wallfish, violin
produced
2005:
“Le Journal du Printemps“
Johann
Caspar Ferdinand Fischer (1665 – 1746)
cpo (co-operation with SWR, Southgerman broadcast station)
J.-Ph. Rameau (LC 5812)
Dardanus - Tambourins I (mp3, 29 s, 353 KB)
Hippolyte et Aricie - Ouverture (mp3, 52 s, 624 KB)
L. Mozart (LIVE Deutsches Mozartfest Augsburg 2004)
Sinfonia da Caccia - Vivace (mp3, 62 s, 738 KB)
J. Mysliveček (cpo 777 050-2)
Sinfonia III - Andante (mp3, 50 s, 594 KB)
W. A. Mozart (cpo 999 810-2)
Divertimento 3, KV 138
- Andante (mp3, 53 s, 641 KB)
- Presto (mp3, 58 s, 710 KB)
+ Prégardien
"Misero! O sogno", KV 432
G. F. Händel
(LIVE Barocktage Stift Melk 2004, ORF CD 369)
+ Rial
"Piangerò la sorte mia"