The Stuttgart Baroque Orchestra is an ensemble which specialises in the performance of music from the 17th century and the first half of the 19th century.  Its players are among the greatest exponents on original instruments.  Their repertoire embraces not only operas but also symphonic works and oratorios.  This orchestra's choice of repertoire is dictated by its desire to bring back to life 17th century operas (Rameau, Jommelli, Naumann) and to rediscover treasures of musical history, particularly works from the South-West region of Germany.

The Stuttgart Baroque Orchestra enjoys a remarkable reputation today:  it is invited to perform in international festivals (Rome, Salzburg, Göttingen, Vézelay);  its recordings frequently receive prizes (Mendelssohn's  Midsummer Night's Dream, the Mozart Requiem, JG Naumann's opera Acis and Galatea).  The 2004-2005 season saw performances in Innsbruck, Modena, Barcelona, at the Göttingen Handel Festival and at the Rhine Vocal Festival.  The orchestra recently received the 2005 Critics' Prize for German Recording for its Bach album.


Stuttgart Chamber Choir

The Stuttgart Chamber Choir's fame is based not only upon its presence at the World Symposiums of Choral Music in Vienna and Sydney.  The ensemble and its CD output - more than 60 recordings with  EMI, Sony, Orfeo and Carus, of which many have won prestigious international prizes - confirms its reputation as one of the best-known vocal ensembles in the world.  Performing at major international festivals, the choir also frequently tours the US, Canada, Israel, Australia and Southern Asia.  Candidates for the ensembles must undergo rigorous selection procedures in solo singing:  this is the secret of the Stuttgart Chamber Choir, known for its remarkable timbre and universally acclaimed by the international press.


Frieder Bernius

In 2005 Frieder Bernius conducted vocal works by Bach, Mozart, Brahms and Penderecki, operatic works by Grieg and Mendelssohn and symphonies by Haydn, Beethoven and Kalliwoda, in venues including Innsbruck, Barcelona, Göttingen, Kyoto, Tel-Aviv, Toronto and Montreal.  This dense season testifies to the amazing range of his activities.  This year will take him to Budapest, Leipzig, Halle, Seoul, Helsinki and Milan.  Familiar with performance on original instruments from Concerto Köln and Tafelmusik, as well as his own ensemble, he triumphs in capital cities and festivals throughout Europe.

The performances of 18th and 19th century operas he conducted in Dresden, at the Mannheim National Theatre, at the Schwetzinger Festspiele or the Stuttgart Early Music Festival testify to the range and flexibility of his vocal repertoire.  In the immediate future he will be conducting the World Première of a fragmentary Schubert opera at Bad Urach completed by the Danish composer Kalr-Aage Rasmussen, and the Première of Die Äolsharfe, an opera written for the Stuttgart Court in 1807.  His version of Mendelssohn's  Midsummer Night's Dream, with actrice Anne Bennent, was hailed as the definitive performance by Fono Forum and Rondo, and revived in a fully staged production.

Frieder Bernius has conducted more than 80 CD recordings.  Among the best-known are the Carus complete recording of Mendelssohn's vocal works;  a representative selection of baroque masterpieces under the BMG and Sony labels;  and a series of operas and symphonies with Orfeo, many of which won prizes.