Christoph Urbanetz bass viola da gamba
With a focus on innovative interpretations and new modes of expression, and always eager to share his enthusiasm for his instrument, the Viennese gamba player Christoph Urbanetz is known for bringing out the groove and energy in the music he performs. As a leading expert on the largely unknown catalogue of performance instructions by Marin Marais, he holds a PhD from the Universität Mozarteum Salzburg. He currently teaches viola da gamba at the music universities in Vienna and Graz, at the Anton Brückner Privatuniversität in Linz, and at the Krzystof Penderecki Academy of Music in Kraków.
Christoph Urbanetz has appeared as a soloist and chamber musician in many of Europe’s most prestigious halls, including the Musikverein and Konzerthaus in Vienna, the Tonhalle Zürich, and the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome. He has performed at major early music festivals such as the Salzburger Festspiele, Resonanzen in Vienna, Oude Muziek Utrecht, the Innsbrucker Festwochen der Alten Musik, Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, the Ludwigsburger Schlossfestspiele, the Händel Festspiele in Halle, and the London Handel Festival.
Urbanetz performs with leading musicians and ensembles throughout Europe. Highlights of his career include concerts with Concentus Musicus Wien (Nikolaus Harnoncourt), Il Giardino Armonico (Giovanni Antonini), Clemencic Consort (René Clemencic), Orchester Wiener Akademie (Martin Haselböck), Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden (Reinhard Goebel), Il Suonar Parlante (Vittorio Ghielmi), the Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia (Antonio Pappano), and La Cetra (Jordi Savall).
A graduate of the universities of Basel, Salzburg and Paris, Urbanetz has won prizes in several competitions, including the Internationaler Viola da gamba Wettbewerb Bach-Abel in Köthen (2006 and 2009), the viol competition in Seville (2007), the Internationaler H. I. F. Biber Wettbewerb in St. Florian and the International Johann Heinrich Schmelzer Competition in Melk. He has also participated in several masterclasses with Jordi Savall.
Christoph Urbanetz has recorded a number of CDs, including his solo album “The Forqueray Family”, released by Brilliant Classics. Together with Vittorio Ghielmi, he co-edited Decoding Marin Marais, a publication that opens up new perspectives on the aesthetics of French Baroque music.
