The full splendour of the Baroque is brought to life at the opening of the festival in Graz’s
Palais Attems,
enveloping us in musical highlights through the artistry of the Palais Attems Hofkapelle , the
HIB.art.chor
and others.
Content
The luminous sounds of ...
... Antonio Vivaldi, Franz Schubert, The Beatles and many others in the beautifully lit rooms of Graz's Palais Attems.
For the opening of Styriarte 2026, the most beautiful dwelling in Graz, the Baroque Palais Attems, throws open its doors to entice festival audiences into its ceremonial rooms. Art historians enthuse about this building, calling it the “Austrian Baroque’s most beautiful achievement”. Our musicians bring this beauty to life in four short concerts, while our lighting design illuminates it. A unique experience!
The small instrumental ensemble was created especially for productions of the Styriarte at Palais Attems in Graz. In the manner of the court bands of stately houses, the ensemble, which is assembled from the ranks of the Orchestra Recreation, plays courtly chamber music of the 17th and 18th centuries.
Born in Vienna, the mezzo-soprano is at home on both opera stages and concert platforms and has also been celebrated by our audiences since the Styriarte 2018. Her studies at the Mozarteum and the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna were followed by numerous international appearances, for example at the Opéra national de Montpellier, the Vienna Musikverein and the Deutsches Theater Berlin.
Under the direction of Maria Fürntratt, the singers of the HIB.art.chor, consisting of students of the HIB Graz-Liebenau, have been offered comprehensive vocal training since 1995. In numerous international performances from Norway to South Africa and Shanghai to San Francisco, the choir's repertoire ranges from Austrian choral tradition to contemporary music.
The Graz-based teacher of school music, singing and French has received numerous educational and artistic awards for her choral work at the HIB Graz-Liebenau - most recently the Nikolaus Harnoncourt Culture Prize of the Province of Styria in 2018. From 2007 to 2023 Maria Fürntratt also was a senior lecturer for choral pedagogy, teaching and vocal practice as well as children's and youth voice training at the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz.
Mariia (Masha) Kurtynina is a multi-keyboard instrumentalist who combines emotional depth with historically informed musical artistry on the clavichord, harpsichord, fortepiano, and piano. Born in 1998 in Znamensk, she performs throughout Europe, including in Bonn, Utrecht, Frankfurt, Warsaw, and Bruges. The award-winning artist moves sensitively and freely between Baroque, Romantic, improvisation, and jazz.
For over 20 years "quartet in residence" at the Esterhazy Palace, the ensemble has toured worldwide from there. Their milestones include a private audience with the Princess of Thailand and collaborations with ORF. In 2021, the Haydn Quartet was selected by the German VAN magazine as one of the 32 most important string quartets of recent decades.
Lorenz Meiler was born and raised in Munich before moving to Graz as a teenager. In 2018, he graduated from BORG Dreierschützengasse. Following his graduation, he completed an apprenticeship in event technology at Graz Opera. After several years as a permanent member of the technical staff, he began working as a freelance lighting designer in 2024. Since then, he has realized numerous projects, including productions for TaO! and Next Liberty. In addition, he has contributed his creative expertise to a variety of independent theatre and performing arts projects.
