Biography

 

Gunar Letzbor studied composition, conducting and violin at Linz, Salzburg and Cologne.
His encounters with Nicolaus Harnoncourt and Reinhard Goebel ignited a deep passion for period instruments and performance practice, leading him to perform extensively with Musica Antiqua Köln, the Clemencic Consort, La Folia Salzburg, Armonico Tributo Basel and the Wiener Akademie. In 1995 Gunar Letzbor founded his own ensemble, Ars Antiqua Austria, an instrumental ensemble of varying size dedicated in particular to the exploration of the rich, but neglected, baroque repertoire of his native country and its neighbours. Corollaries of this voyage of re-discovery have been not only the unexpected finds of musical masterpieces otherwise destined to languish in obscurity, but also the articulation of a uniquely central-European instrumental sound and its often deeply spiritual inspiration.
As a soloist and with Ars Antiqua Austria, Letzbor has made numerous recordings (including several world premieres), featuring works by Mozart, Bach, Biber, Muffat, Aufschnaiter, Viviani, Schmelzer, Weichlein, Vejvanovsky, Vilsmayr and Conti. Many of these CDs have received major record awards, including the Cannes Classical Award and Amadeus' Disco dell'Anno. Letzbor has performed at every major baroque music festival in Europe, including the Festival de la Musique Baroque in Ribeauville, Festwochen der Alten Musik in Berlin, Festival Printemps des Arts in Nantes, Mozartfest in Würzburg, Tagen alter Musik in Herne, Folles Journees de Nantes, Musee d'Unterlinden Colmar, Flanders Festival, Festival Bach de Lausanne, Bologna Festival, Resonanzen Wien, Klangbogen Wien, Monteverdi Festival in Cremona and at the Munich Staatsoper and the Salzburg Festival. Gunar Letzbor teached at the Musikhochschule in Lubeck, Germany; he is a widely respected teacher, giving summer courses across Europe. He is also the author of a method entitled "Geiger - Geige - Geigen" ("Violinist - Violin - Violin playing") published by Helbing.