Werner Ehrhardt
Conductor and violinist Werner Ehrhardt, one of the great pioneers of the German period-instrument movement, specializes in early music. He is known for his distinctive, historically informed interpretation of orchestral and vocal works. His interests extend far beyond the confines of Western European music.
In 1985, Werner Ehrhardt founded the now internationally renowned chamber orchestra Concerto Köln, which he led until 2005, developing and shaping a characteristic style of historically informed performance practice. In 2004, he established the orchestra l’arte del mondo and also began working as a freelance conductor with traditional orchestras. Since then, he has appeared with great success as a guest conductor with numerous international opera, symphony, and chamber orchestras, including the Stuttgart State Opera Orchestra, the Konzerthausorchester Berlin, the Bern Symphony Orchestra, the Hamburg Symphony Orchestra, the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra, the Potsdam Chamber Academy, the Geneva Chamber Orchestra, and the Zurich Chamber Orchestra.
Werner Ehrhardt has collaborated with soloists such as Edita Gruberová, Magdalena Kožená, Barbara Hendricks, Andreas Scholl, Julia Lezhneva, Menahem Pressler, Viktoria Mullova, Daniel Hope, Xavier de Maistre, Dorothee Oberlinger, Avi Avital, the RIAS Chamber Choir, and the Tölz Boys‘ Choir. Under his direction, some 80 CD recordings of opera, oratorio, and concert symphonic repertoire have been made, many of which have received international awards. Among the recordings are several rediscoveries of forgotten composers (for example Joseph Martin Kraus, Pasquale Anfossi, Josef Mysliveček or Anton Zimmermann), which were brought back into the consciousness of listeners with great enthusiasm.
