BAROQUE GROUP

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 33816, 12 April 1975, Page 3

BAROQUE GROUP

Concentus Musicus of Vienna, which will arrive in Christchurch tomorrow to give a concert in the Town Hall on Monday evening. The group, which has achieved a world-wide reputation as the most distinguished group of musicians specialising in baroque music, will give four concerts in New Zealand for the Music Federation. Founded in 1952 by Nikolaus Harnoncourt and other musicians from the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, Concentus Musicus performs only music writ-

ten before 1800. The group has won high praise for its superb performances of Bach, Haydn, Purcell, Vivaldi, and other early composers. As a chamber orchestra it is unique, for the members perform from original scores and play the original instruments, creating the authentic sound of the epoch when the music was written. Nikolaus Harnoncourt has become closely linked with the movement towards authenticity in sound and presentation of music. He is now an important musical figure as a

conductor, musicologist, producer, and lecturer. Under his leadership, Concentus Musicus has travelled throughout Europe and America, making audiences rediscover music from one of the richest periods of composition. All the musicians spent five years of intensive rehearsing before making their first public performance. They have made nearly 100 long-playing records, and have won awards such as the Grand Prix du Disque, the Grammy award, and the Deutscher '■challplattenpreis.