Bach Ensemble Helmuth Rilling

<iframe width="591" height="332" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ls5C7KsBaXk" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

«To “Masters of Choral Singing”: You are real Masters and it is pleasure to work with a chorus of such quality!» — Christoph Eschenbach, conductor.

Grand choir was founded in 1928, its founder and first artistic director was a master of choral art A.V.Sveshnikov. At various times, he was guided by such great musicians as N.S.Golovanov, I.M.Kuvykin, K.B.Ptitsa, L.V.Ermakova.

In 2005, the Grand Choir (known as the «Masters of Choral Singing») for the post of artistic director was invited by the People’s Artist of Russia, Professor Lev Kontorovich. Under his leadership, the updated composition of the choir successfully continues the traditions established by their predecessors. The name itself — «Masters of Choral Singing» — determined the professionalism, high level of performance, exceptional speed and versatility of the team, where each artist can act as a member of the choir and as a soloist.

For 85 years, the choir performed more than 5,000 works — operas, oratorios, cantatas Russian and foreign composers, works a’cappella, folk songs and sacred music. Many of them were the «golden fund» of the national record, gained recognition abroad (Grand Prix competition of recordings in Paris, the «Gold Medal» in Valencia). In the performance of a large choir were first heard many choral works by Prokofiev, Shostakovich, Shchedrin, Aram Khachaturian, O.Taktakishvili, V.Agafonnikova, Yu.Evgrafova etc.

With a large choir at various times such outstanding conductors as E.Svetlanov, M.Rostropovich, V.Spivakov, D.Kitaenko, V.Fedoseev, H.Rilling, G.Rozhdestvensky, A.Dzedda, E.Morrikone, V.Jurowski, M.Pletnev, K.Eshenbah; singers E. Obraztsova, I.Arkhipov, N.Gedda, D.Hvorostovsky, A.Netrebko, Z.Sotkilava, E.Nesterenko, R.Alanya, A.Georgiu, V.Ladyuk and many others.

In 2008 and 2012 the Grand choir took part in the inauguration ceremony of President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev and Vladimir Putin.

Grand choir clapped their hands in the major concert halls of Russia, Italy, France, Germany, Israel, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Japan, South Korea, Qatar, Indonesia and others held touring Grand choir for major cities of the Urals and Siberia (Dmitri Hvorostovsky) and the Far East.

The German soprano, Sophie Julia Wagner, received her first singing lessons from her mother, Helene Grabenhorst. She then studied at the Hochschule für Musik "Franz Liszt" in Weimar with Venceslava Hruba-Freiberger, at McGill University in Montreal, Canada with Professor Lucile Evans and the Hochschule für Musik und Theater "Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy" in Leipzig with Professor Hans-Joachim Beyer. She received further artistic training by attending master-classes with Peter Schreier, Graham Johnson and Ingrid Figur and has repeatedly worked with Edith Wiens. She has won several national and international competitions, including the International Mozart Singing Competition in Prague, 3rd prize at the Paula Salomon-Lindberg Competition for for Contemporary Lied in Berlin (2005), winner of the Lortzing Competition in Leipzig (2007); Lied prize at the Mozart Competition in Prague (2008), among others. She also won scholarships of the Deutschen Akademischen Austauschdienstes (DAAD) (2003) and the Friends of the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy in Leipzig, and of the Leipzig Opera (2008), where she sang Le Feu and Rossignol in Ravel's L'enfant et les Sortileges and Anna Reich in Lustigen Weibern von Windsor.

After her debut in 2002 with Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana in the Herkulessaal in Munich Julia Sophie Wagner quickly became a sought after recial and concert singer, specializing in the vocal works of J.S. Bach. Recently also praised for her interpretations of the major classic and romantic oratorios, her debut of L.v. Beethoven's Missa Solemnis, which she performed at the Kennedy Center under the baton of Julian Wachner, was voted »#1 Kennedy Center Event of 2014« by Washington Life Magazine.

Sophie Julia Wagner is in demand primarily as recital and concert singer. She made her concert debut in 2002 in Carmina Burana at the Herkulessaal in Munich. She has worked with renowned orchestras including the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Radio-Symphonie-Orchester-Berlin, RTVE Madrid, RAI Torino, Washington National Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra del Maggio Musicale, Nürnberger Symphoniker, Bach-Collegium Stuttgart (Director: Helmuth Rilling), Bach Collegium München, as well as with with Baroque ensembles such as the Händel-Festspielorchester der Oper Halle, Hamburg Sinfonietta, Züricher Barockorchester LaPartita and Neues Bachisches Collegium Musicum, Ensemble Moderntimes_1800, Orchester der J.S. Bach-Stiftung St. Gallen (Director: Rudolf Lutz), Pratum Integrum Moscow and Tafelmusik Toronto. Many of these concerts were recorded for radio and television as well as for CD and DVD.

Julia Sophie Wagner is also dedicated more and more to the opera. She was last heard in Osnabrück as Gretel, as well as in Gera and Altenburg as Najade in Richard Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos.

Concert tours and guest appearances have taken Julia Sophie Wagner to many European countries, North and South America, Japan and to Egypt, where she performed in venues like Berlin Philharmonie, Palau de la Musica Barcelona, Kennedy Center in Washington, Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires and Cairo Opera House, to name a few. In addition, she is frequently invited to prestigious international music festivals, including the Maggio Musicale Florence, Mendelssohn Festtagen in Leipzig, Bachfest Leipzig, Tagen alter Musik Herne, Oregon Bach Festival, Carinthian Summer and the European Music Festival Stuttgart under Helmuth Rilling, and the Rheingau Musikfestival and Festival de la Chaise Dieu under Daniel Reuss.

Julia Sophie Wagner enjoys a fruitful musical friendship with Helmuth Rilling. After a successful tour of Germany with J.S. Bach's B-minor Mass (BWV 232) with concerts in the Liederhalle Stuttgart and the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden, she was invited to sing a series of concerts with Bach solo cantatas in Italy, followed by a tour throughout South America with the ensembles of the Bach Academy Stuttgart.

The music of J.S. Bach being one main focus of her work, Julia Sophie Wagner also follows her passion for chamber music. She gave various recitals and chamber concerts at the Bachfest Leipzig, the Chamber Music

Festival Hohenstaufen, the Tonhalle Zurich as well as in Japan. Paul Rivinius, Goetz Payer and Eric Schneider are amongst her musical partners.

Last Julia Sophie Wagner has given Lieder recitals in Germany and Japan, besides; she was a guest in Barcelona, where she sang in the concert series celbrating the 100 Anniversary of the Palau de la Musica the soprano part in Haydn's Seasons. She also sang in Haydn's Creation under Helmuth Rilling in Winterthur and Florence, and appeared concerts at the Gewandhaus in Leipzig and the Philharmonie in Berlin.

Recent projects include her debut as Queen of the night, under the baton of Howard Arman and concerts with solo cantatas by J.S. Bach in Santiago de Compostela conducted by Helmuth Rilling, and concerts at the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden and at the Liederhalle. Other future concerts include concerts of George Frideric Handel’s Saul (Münchener Bach-Chor under Hansjörg Albrecht) in Brixen and Engelbert Humperdinck’s Hänsel und Gretel in Osnabrück.

Julia Sophie Wagner can be heard on the CD production Un momento di contento (arias by Georg Frideric Handel), published by Coviello. With Eric Schneider she recently recorded a CD in co-production with the German national radio station DeutschlandradioKultur combining songs by Clara Schumann and Robert Schumann, Felix Mendelssohn and Edvard Grieg. The CD was presented at the Bachfest Leipzig in June 2015.

Julia Sophie Wagner now lives in Leipzig.

Winner of the Bachwoche 2013 at the Bachakademie Stuttgart.

Born in Barcelona, Lidia Vinyes-Curtis experienced a broad musical education with a complete study of the violin at the two Barcelona Conservatoires of music, followed by a degree in Ancient Music and Baroque Violin at the Conservatoire Nationale de Région de Toulouse (France). She completed these studies with the highest grades. She began her vocal training in Barcelona with her principal teacher Maestro Jorge Sirena, continued at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis (Switzerland) and took master classes with Richard Levitt, David Mason and Rosa Domínguez.

Her professional singing career starts at the Festival d’Ambronay conducted by Gabriel Garrido. Since then her solo singing has continued with other renowned conductors such as Martin Gester, Kay Johannsen, Philippe Pierlotand Jordi Savallat a number of European Baroque Music Festivals.

In 2013, Lidia won the Bachakademie Stuttgart 2013 and immediately shewas invited byHelmuth Rillingto sing the St. Matthew Passion on tour in Germany and South America, receiving very favourable reviews for her singing.

In 2014, she made her debut with the Spanish National Orchestra (ONE) invited by conductor Josep Ponsto sing l’Atlantida by Manuel de Falla. The ONE demanded her again in 2015 to sing Mozart’s Requiem, conducted by Giovanni Antonini.

Among her recent performances, Lidia was in Moscow at the Tchaikovsky Concert Hall, in Germany at the Thomaskirche Leipzig and at the City Hall in Hong Kong singing J.S.Bach’s St. Matthew Passion, the Christmas Oratorio and the Mass in b-minor conducted by Helmuth Rilling. At the Philharmonie in Munich she sang Mozart’s Requiem conducted by K.F. Beringer. At the Festival Via Stellae she performed Goffredoin G.F. Händel’s “Rinaldo” conducted by the harp player Manuel Vilas.

Forthcoming performances include appearances in Barcelona at the Liceu Opera Housesinging the role of Ascanioin “Benvenuto Cellini” by H. Berlioz, with Jean-Claude Malgoireat the Paris Théâtre des Champs Elyséesas Zulmain G.Rossini’s “L’Italiana in Algeri”, with Helmuth Rilling singing J.S.Bach Cantatas in Germany, and with Sigiswald Kuijken singing J.S.Bach’s St. Matthew Passion on tour in Tokio, Singapur and at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam.

The German tenor Martin Lattke (*1981) received his first singing training at the age of 7.

As a boy soprano he was since 1990 a member of the Thomanerchor Leipzig, where he spent the following nine years of his life, and began an extensive musical education.

After his choir time he was in 1999 co-founder of the Calmus Ensemble Leipzig and from 2006 to 2013 a member of the vocal soloist ensemble amarcord and performed on stages and podiums of major concert halls and music festivals worldwide.

He is laureate of international competitions (2002: 1st prize at the International Robert Schumann Choir Competition in Zwickau/Germany, 2004: 1st prize "Jugend kulturell" Hanover/Germany, 2005: 1st prize Tampere/Finland, 2005: 1st prize Tolosa/Spain) and was awarded a scholarship of the German Music Competition in 2002.

After completing his degree in industrial engineering in 2003, he studied opera singing at the oldest university school of music in Germany, the University of Music and Theatre "Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy" Leipzig, with Professor Hans-Joachim Beyer. In 2007 he completed a master class with Peter Schreier and received artistic impulses for singing the part of the Evangelist in Bach's Passions.

Martin Lattke's repertoire includes extensive Lieder and ensemble literature from the Renaissance to contemporary, oratorios and cantatas, preferably of the works of J.S. Bach, and opera. His debut as the Evangelist in Bach's Christmas Oratorio was in 2008 at the "Gran Teatro La Fenice" in Venice, conducted by Riccardo Chailly.

Many engagements have taken Martin Lattke in recent years to over 50 countries on all continents of the earth (including throughout Europe, the U.S., Australia, Canada, Russia, Japan, Korea, Africa, Central America and the Middle East).

Highlights of his singing career are the recording of Bach's Christmas Oratorio for Decca with the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra in 2010, conducted by Riccardo Chailly, the recording of the St. Matthew Passion with the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra in 2012 and the recording of the B-Minor Mass with the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra on DVD/Blu–ray in 2013, conducted by Thomaskantor Georg Christoph Biller.

Lattke was in 2010 with the ensemble amarcord a winner of the ECHO Klassik for the album "Rastlose Liebe" with music from Schumann and Mendelssohn, and in 2012 again for the album "Das Lieben bringt groß Freud!" with German folk songs.

Numerous other CD and radio productions document his artistic work.