Bernhard Hofstötter, Baroque Lute

Works by Anonymous, Hültz, Reusner, Pinel, Gaultier, Schmelzer, Bleystein de Prague (World Premiere Recordings)

In 1928/29, Dr. Werner Wolffheim put his legendary music collection up for auction in Berlin. Among its countless treasures are original editions of J.S. Bach's "The Art of the Fugue" and "Musical Offering" as well as an "Album for the Lute", an exquisite collection of music for the 11-course baroque lute. This manuscript, now kept in Melbourne, contains almost exclusively unique pieces, which were recorded here for the first time.
The context of origin and original ownership of the manuscript AUS-Mml ms. LHD 243, an "Album für die Laute" (Album for the Lute) as noted in pencil on the end paper, are unknown. Even the best music library remains silent until it is made to sound. The "Handschrift aus der 2. Hälfte des 17. Jahrhunderts, eine Art Album" (Manuscript from the second half of the 17th Century, a kind of album) presented on this recording for the first time offers an exquisite collection of music for the 11-course baroque lute - excellently interpreted by the lutenist Bernhard Hofstötter.

Bernhard Hofstötter's lute playing has been described as ‘superb’ (theWholeNote) ‘bringing pieces to life in an array of rich hues’ (Rondo), 'dazzling with a profound musicality and a rare understanding of colour’ and ‘elegant execution' (ResMusica), ‘pithy and virtuosic’ (Akustik Gitarre), and 'adeptly combining technical ease with a masterful sense of phrasing' (Lute Society of America). Hofstötter's solo recordings of lute and guitar music of the 16th to 18th century have all been met with international critical acclaim and received numerous prizes, such as the Pasticcio Prize (awarded three times by Austrian Radio station Österreich 1), the 'Clef de ResMusica' (awarded twice), and the 'Global Music Awards – Gold Medal'. A ‘true poet of sound’ (ResMusica), Hofstötter has been nominated three times at the International Classical Music Awards (ICMA), including for his earlier release on TYXart, Fantasia Bellissima – The Lviv Lute Tablature, which was also nominated in four categories at the Opus Klassik 2020.
Bernhard Hofstötter was born in Vienna in 1975. Before taking up the lute, he studied violin with Grete Biedermann and won a prize at the national 'Jugend musiziert' competition in Austria. While reading law at the universities of Vienna, Oslo, Leuven and St Gallen, he received lute training with Luciano Còntini at the 'Arrigo Pedrollo' Conservatory in Vicenza and at the Conservatory of Vienna. Having attained his soloist diploma at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague in 2001 after studying under Toyohiko Satoh, he received further musical inspiration from Konrad Junghänel at Cologne University of Music, and in masterclasses with Hopkinson Smith, Rolf Lislevand and Evangelina Mascardi. He completed his studies with Yasunori Imamura at Strasbourg Conservatory, graduating with distinction ('mention très bien avec les félicitations du jury'). He has performed in concert halls of his native Austria (Konzerthaus Vienna and Mozarteum Salzburg, among others), all across Europe, Armenia and Japan. [...]
(Extract of the CD Booklet)

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