Stefan Temmingh

Recorder player Stefan Temmingh has drawn comparisons to the celebrated Dutch virtuoso Frans Brüggen, matching not only exceptional technical command but also a drive to reposition the recorder in contemporary concert settings. Born in Cape Town, South Africa, in 1978, he later settled in Munich, Germany, where he continues to reside and serves as a lecturer at the Munich College of Music. His training took place under Markus Zahnhausen in Munich and Michael Schneider in Frankfurt.

He tackles core Baroque repertoire for the recorder, frequently approaching it from unexpected angles. Appearances in chamber ensembles, engagements as soloist with larger groups, and direction of his own compact Baroque ensemble have earned widespread praise, including a Corriere della Sera review from Milan that declared of his debut recording, Corelli à la mode, “Never before did recorder playing sound so effortless and so differentiated in terms of timbre and dynamics.” His second album, The Gentleman’s Flute, received an International Classical Music Award nomination in 2011. Temmingh’s discs have appeared on the leading German and Belgian imprints Oehms, Deutsche Harmonia Mundi, and Accent; the 2014 release Inspired by Song paired him with soprano Dorothee Mields. Conceptual boldness has increased over time, evident in the 2017 collection of Vivaldi recorder concertos recorded with the Capricornus Consort Basel, which interleaved Vivaldi movements with Bach preludes and employed a psaltery among the continuo instruments.

Festival engagements have included the Leipzig Bach Festival, the Mosel Music Festival, Bach Weeks Thuringia, the Handel House in Halle, and numerous additional series across Europe, Asia, and Africa. As soloist he has collaborated with the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra, the Brandenburg Symphony Orchestra, the Hong Kong Sinfonietta, the Cape Philharmonic Orchestra in Cape Town, the Southwest German Chamber Orchestra, the Folkwang Chamber Orchestra Essen, and the Ludwigsburg Festival. He has regularly commissioned fresh works for the recorder, and in 2008 the City of Munich granted him a fellowship for contemporary music.