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Leonardo García Alarcón

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Leonardo García Alarcón · Leonardo García-Alarcón is an Argentine conductor who has specialised in Baroque music. He was born in La Plata in 1976, studied harpsichord and organ, and moved to Europe in 1997. In Geneva he studied at the Centre for Early Music and became an assistant to Gabriel Garrido. In 2005 he founded his own ensemble, Cappella Mediterranea. With that ensemble he has performed at many festivals, including Ambronay. He also co-directs Ensemble Clematis with the violinist Stéphanie de Failly, and since 2010 he has been artistic director of the Chœur de chambre de Namur and La Nouvelle Ménestrandie.

Music and breakthrough

His recordings have appeared mainly on Ambronay and Ricercar. They include Girolamo Frescobaldi: Il Regno D'Amore from 2009, Virtuosissima compositrice, with madrigals by Barbara Strozzi, from 2009, Handel's Judas Maccabaeus from 2010, Vespro a San Marco from 2011 and Carmina Latina from 2013. He also recorded Mozart's Requiem.

Influence

Alarcón likes to bring forgotten works back into the concert hall, such as operas and oratorios from seventeenth-century Italy. After a performance of Il diluvio universale by Michelangelo Falvetti he was awarded the honorary title of citizen of Ambronay. He teaches at the conservatoire in Geneva and researches seventeenth-century music. In this way he keeps a rich, often forgotten repertoire alive, with historical instruments and a lively, dramatic style of playing.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to a recording by Cappella Mediterranea under his direction and notice how the harpsichord or organ carries the rhythm and how the singers handle the text dramatically. Hear how alive Baroque music can sound.

Discography

Studio albums

Categories: Artists