The KlangVerwaltung Orchestra was founded in 1997 by the violinists Andreas Reiner and Josef Kröner. The orchestra’s aim was and still is the adequate realization of the musically extraordinary conceptions of conductor Enoch zu Guttenberg. While the main focus was initially aimed at the unusual name – which is supposed to illustrate the discretionary administration of music in a responsible way – it soon became clear that a new elite orchestra had taken the stage, one that is not only familiar with the historical performance of the baroque and early classical repertoire, but that offers much more. The orchestra’s masterly interaction, extraordinary soloistic abilities, which is a result of the musician base coming from leading symphonic orchestras such as the Berlin and the Munich Philharmonic Orchestras, the State Opera Houses of Munich, Stuttgart, Hamburg, and Hannover, the Salzburg Mozarteum, the Deutsche Oper Berlin, the Deutsche Oper am Rhein, as well as different German radio symphonic orchestras. Amazingly colourful sound possibilities, and an unusually dedicated habitus have earned them brilliant reviews as well as a great degree of popularity. The orchestra’s participation in the Rheingaufestival, the Kissinger Sommer, the European Weeks Festival, the Alte Oper in Frankfurt, the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden, their very own festival on Herrenchiemsee as well as performances in Munich and other European cities are significant and recurring engagements.
Chorgemeinschaft Neubeuern
The Chorgemeinschaft Neubeuern, established by Enoch zu Guttenberg in 1967, upholds the more than 100-year-old musical tradition of the Upper Bavarian village of Neubeuern, which forms the basis of its unique style. Today the Chorgemeinschaft performs the major oratorios of Munich's concert season and works with orchestras and soloists of international repute. While its repertoire ranges from the early Baroque to the 20th century, J. S. Bach remains the focus of the Choir's musical work. Concerts given at all major musical centres in Germany, as well as guest performances at the great festivals of the world, testify to the Choir's ongoing presence and success in the international music scene. One of the highlights of 2007 was the Choir's fourth performance in Vienna's Musikvereinssaal. The high standard of the Choir's performances, documented by numerous radio and television productions and CD recordings, has received the greatest critical acclaim. The Choir and its director have been awarded a number of prizes for their work, among them the Deutsche Kulturpreis, the Bavarian State Prize and the cultural award of the Bavarian National Foundation.
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Enoch zu Guttenberg |
Conductor |
Over the last four decades, Enoch zu Guttenberg has established an outstanding reputation as interpreter of symphonic works and great oratorios. In addition to guest engagements with important national and international orchestras, he has been forging a close relationship with his two ensembles: Orchester der KlangVerwaltung and Chorgemeinschaft Neubeuern. For many years he has been fascinating a growing audience of listeners critical of the conventional music business with his unique, historically adept and both contextually and emotionally rich performances. In 2000, he established the International Herrenchiemsee Festival and was appointed as the artistic director. For his work, the conductor has received many awards, among them the Deutscher Kulturpreis (German Cultural Award) and the Bundesverdienstkreuz (Order of Merit 1st class of the Federal Republic of Germany). For his recording of Anton Bruckner's Symphony No. 4 in E-flat, “Romantic” with the Orchester der KlangVerwaltung, he received the coveted ECHO Klassik Award 2008 in the category “Symphonic Recording of the Year” of 19th century music.
Miriam Meyer graduated from the Lübeck Music University in 2002 and was awarded a pass with distinction. Whilst still a student, she was a permanent ensemble member of the City Theatre Hildesheim. From 2002 to 2008, she was a member of the soloist’s ensemble at the Komische Oper, Berlin. She has sung in Don Giovanni, The Diary of Anne Frank, Fidelio, Der Vogelhändler, Le Nozzi di Figaro, Der Freischütz, Die Lustige Witwe, Die Fledermaus and La Bohème. She has also sung for a BR-TV production of Haydn’s The Seasons and performances of The Creation at the Alte Oper Frankfurt and the Residenz Theatre Munich and for both concerts she received excellent reviews. She is frequently invited to the Handel Festival Halle, where she has sung, to great acclaim, the soprano solo of Handel's Messiah with the Choeur des Musiciens du Louvre and the Lautten Compagney Berlin under Wolfgang Katschner. At the same festival, she appeared as Clizia in Handel's Teseo directed by Axel Köhler. Guest performances of this production took place at the Schwetzingen Festival, Bayreuth Baroque, the Hanover Herrenhausen Festival, Winterthur, Potsdam Sanssouci, the Royal Theatre Bury St. Edmunds and in London.
Canadian tenor Colin Balzer holds degrees from both the University of British Columbia and the Hochschule für Musik Nürnberg/Augsburg, and holds the rare distinction of earning the Gold Medal at the Robert Schumann Competition with the highest score in 25 years. He has performed with Collegium Vocale Gent, Akademie für alte Musik Berlin, Berlin Phillharmonischer Choir, Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, National Philharmonic in Washington DC, L'orchestra symphonique de Quebec, Marc Minkowski and Les Musiciens du Louvre etc. He has sung in Handel's Solomon and Messiah, Haydn's The Creation, Mendelssohn's Elijah, Bach’s St. John Passion, Mozart's Requiem, Britten's War Requiem etc. Balzer has recorded numerous recordings, his recording of Lully's Psyché for the Boston Early Music Festival was nominated a Grammy award.
The German Baritone, Thomas Scharr, was born in Stuttgart. From 1998 to 2003, he was a member of the permanent ensemble at the Landestheater of Linz, Austria, where he gave his international debut. With Scharr’s moving voice and his fantastic musical instincts, his performances of the St. Matthew Passion and Mass in B Minor by Bach, Mendelssohn’s Paulus and Handel’s Messiah have all received excellent reviews from the press. He celebrated successes at many famous concert halls in Europe, for example the Philharmonie of Cologne, the Bremer Glocke, the Liederhalle in Stuttgart and the Viennese Musikverein. As a guest singer, he has also been invited to countless festivals such as the Schwetzingen Festival, the Rheingaufestival, the Bodensee Festival, the European Music Festival of Stuttgart and the traditional Salzburg Festival.
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Elisabetta Lombardi |
Mezzo-Soprano |
Elisabetta Lombardi studied singing in Pesaro and Turino (Italy), where she finished her studies with the highest accolades. After her debut in Turino she sang in various Italian opera houses, performing a wide range of repertoire from Baroque to modern. She has performed in numerous concerts and festivals including the Ravenna Festival, the Sagra Musicale Umbra, the Settembre Musica in Turin, the International Piano Festival in Bergamo and Brescia, the Viterbo Barock-Festival, the Musical Weeks of Bologna, the Saison of the Berlin Philharmonics and the International Herrenchiemsee Festival. As an opera singer she gave her debut at the Come Teatro Regio di Torino as Hänsel in Hänsel and Gretel by Humperdinck. Since then, she has been invited to perform in productions at theatres in Naples, Parma, Modena, Lucca and Macerata, for roles in both Italian and German operas. She teaches vocal chamber music at the Conservatory in Fermo.
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Klaus Mertens |
Bass-baritone |
Klaus Mertens was born in Kleve, Germany. He has worked with great conductors of the classical repertoire such as Enoch zu Guttenberg, Hans Vonk, Edo de Waart and Ivan Fischer. He has very successfully worked with famous orchestras around the world such as the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra, Concertgebouw-Orchester Amsterdam, Dresdner Philharmonie, Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra. Klaus Mertens is known to be one of the most prominent and sought-after interpreters of the Baroque oratorio and concert repertoire. The magazine FONO FORUM said: “...I don’t know any other bass but Klaus Mertens who is such an eminent interpreter”. He is the first and only singer to have sung all of Bach’s vocal works for a complete CD recording series as well as in concerts. Klaus Mertens also enjoys musical success from the classical and romantic periods, as well as contemporary pieces. Today, he has a discography of more than 160 CDs and DVDs.
