Lorenz Duftschmid
With his ensembles, the Linz native, born in 1964, delves deep into the soundscapes of the Baroque. Lifelong research into historical performance practice and, not least, studies with Jordi Savall have made him a leading early music viola da gamba player whose concert tours regularly take him all over the globe.
About the artist
GRAND MASTER OF THE VIOLA DA GAMBA
Career
Born in Linz, Upper Austria, Lorenz Duftschmid received his first musical education at the Anton Bruckner-Privat University and at the Musikgymnasium in his hometown, where he was also a co-founder of the ensembles for early music Ars Antiqua and Consortium Musicum. During this time, Lorenz Duftschmid made intensive contacts with personalities such as August Wenzinger, Wieland Kuijken, Gustav Leonhard, Ferdinando Luigi Tagliavini and Josef Mertin. At the Schola Cantorum in Basel, Lorenz Duftschmid completed concert studies in the viola da gamba class by Jordi Savall.
On stage
Since then he has traveled the world as a soloist with first-class ensembles and conductors. Lorenz Duftschmid performed on stage with artists such as Ton Koopman, Claudio Abbado, Karl Marcovics, Paul Gulda, Tobias Moretti, the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra and Sir John Eliott Gardiner, Kassé Mady Diabaté and Ballake Sissoko. He has performed in major concert halls around the world such as Beijing, Taipei, Hong Kong, New York, Boston, Buenos Aires, Montevideo, Sao Paolo, Caracas, in the Wiener Konzerthaus and Musikverein, at the Bach Festival in Leipzig, in London, Paris, Berlin, Oslo, Lissabonn, Rome and Amsterdam.
Recordings
More than 100 CD recordings, many of which have received international awards, document the artist's work. After a guest professorship at the University of Art in Graz, Lorenz Duftschmid has been Professor of Viola da Gamba at the State University of Music in Trossingen, Germany since 2003. Lorenz Duftschmid was a visiting professor at the renowned Tongji University in Shanghai from 2017 to 2019. He is considered a celebrated virtuoso on gamba, baryton and arpeggione, and is in demand as a passionate researcher in music and as an ensemble director and conductor.
Today Lorenz Duftschmid mainly performs as a soloist and with his ensembles Armonico Tributo, the Johann Joseph Fux madrigalists and AnLeuT Consort.
Festivals & award
Numerous music festivals such as International Early Music Weeks - Krieglach, International Chamber Music Days - Raumberg, Atelier for Early Music - Montepulciano - Trossingen- Aflenz, Musiqua Antiqua - Vienna, muerz.baroque were shaped by the musical direction of Lorenz Duftschmid. In 2001 the artist was awarded the Grand Josef Krainer Prize of the Department of Styria for his cultural merits.
