Catherine Mackintosh

Catherine Mackintosh ranks among the busiest violinists active in England’s early music circles. She pursued violin studies with Aurea Pernel and Silvia Rosenberg at London’s Royal College of Music. While still a student she also worked on chamber music under Kenneth Skeaping and performed as a singer in Roger Norrington’s Schütz choir. A three-year scholarship took her to the European Seminars of Early Music in Bruges from 1967 to 1969, where she played early violin and viola, viola d’amore, and viol. In 1969 she helped establish the Consort of Musicke and simultaneously became a member of the English Consort of Viols. Three years later she was appointed the Academy of Ancient Music’s first concertmistress, remaining in the post until 1987. During that tenure she participated in major recordings led by Christopher Hogwood, among them Handel’s Messiah, the complete Mozart symphonies, and Vivaldi’s L’estro armonico together with the Four Seasons, sharing the solo duties with Alison Bury, John Holloway, and Monica Huggett. In 1984 Mackintosh formed the Purcell Quartet and, with the ensemble, committed to disc trio sonatas by Lawes, Purcell, Biber, Corelli, Handel, and Leclair. The same year she was named co-concertmistress of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, for which she produced the first period-instrument recording of Vivaldi’s concertos for viola d’amore. In 1997 she recorded Bach’s violin sonatas in partnership with Maggie Cole. Mackintosh has exerted considerable influence as a teacher of the early violin, shaping an entire generation of period-instrument string players. Her teaching posts have included the Royal College of Music in London from 1977 to 1999 and the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama beginning in 1988.