dr Christoph Urbanetz – viola da gamba
Christoph Urbanetz has appeared as a soloist in many recitals all over Europe including playing at the Innsbruck Early Music Festival, in Vienna at the Konzerthaus (Resonanzen), the Musikverein and the Palais Liechtenstein, in Zurich (Forum Alte Musik), Reutlingen (Musiqua Antiqua), London (Handel House and Handel Festival), Cambridge (Clare Hall), Milan (Teatro dal verme), Budapest (Liszt Academy of Music and Marble Hall), Belgrade (Cello Festival), as well as broadcasts with the ORF, DRS and WDR. Together with Vittorio Ghielmi he appeared in a Duo Concert at the hungarian radio. He worked together with the italian pop singer Vinicio Capossela and the cellist Mario Brunello.
Highlights have been concerts with groups such as Concentus Musicus (Nikolaus Harnoncourt), Il Giardino Armonico (dir. Giovanni Antonini), Clemencic Consort, Wiener Akademie (dir. Martin Haselböck), Dresdner Staatskapelle (Reinhard Goebel), Il suonar parlante (dir. Vittorio Ghielmi) and La Cetra (dir. Jordi Savall). They took place in Musikverein and Konzerthaus Vienna, Escorial Madrid, Santiago de Compostela, Accademia di Santa Cecilia in Rome, Teatro d’Arcimboldi Milano, Galeria and San Marco in Florence, Toroella, Semperoper Dresden, Festspielhaus Salzburg.
He won the special prize for the best interpretation of J.S.Bach and the 2nd prize at the International Bach-Abel-Competition for Viola da gamba in Köthen (Germany), the first prize at the International Competition for Viola da gamba in Sevilla, the Romanus Weichlein price at the H.I.F. Biber Competition in St.Florian and the third prize at the J.H. Schmelzer competition in Melk.
Born in Vienna he studied after graduation from the Schottengymnasium with Paolo Pandolfo at the “Schola Cantorum Basiliensis” in Basel. There he made his diploma “summa cum laude”. In Spain he participated in several masterclasses with Jordi Savall. He went on studying with Vittorio Ghielmi at the “Conservatorio de la Svizzera Italiana” in Lugano (CH) and the Mozarteum in Salzburg and with Christophe Coin at the Conservatoire National Supérieur in Paris.
Besides he made various CD- and TV-recordings (e.g. “Membra Jesu Nostri” with René Jacobs for Harmonia Mundi). His album “The Forqueray Family” appeared on Brilliant Classics. Christoph Urbanetz is a lecturer for Viola da gamba at the University of Music in Graz and at the Academy of Music in Krakow (Poland). He is aswell teaching at the Austria Barock Akademie in Gmunden (Austria) and at the Miszla Baroque Academy in Miszla (Hungary) and at the Forum Early Music at the Chopin University Warsaw.