Biography
Werner Ehrhardt, a German conductor and violinist, has built a reputation around historically informed performance practices. His extensive recording career encompasses more than seventy releases featuring Concerto Köln, l'arte del mondo, and additional groups.
Born in Cologne in 1957, Ehrhardt turned to the study of historically informed performance during the closing years of the 1970s. His teachers included Franz Josef Maier and Sigiswald Kuijken for violin, while Karl-Heinz Bloemeke guided his conducting studies; he later worked further with Kato Havas and Renate Peter. As a founding member of the chamber orchestra Concerto Köln, he held the position of music director from 1985 until 2005. During that period the ensemble gained recognition for its distinctive approach to performance practice and for reviving overlooked scores by Baroque and Classical composers such as Francesco Durante, Franz Xaver Sterkel, and Evaristo Felice Dall'Abaco.
Toward the close of his time with Concerto Köln, Ehrhardt established the orchestra l'arte del mondo and took on guest-conducting engagements with several European ensembles, among them the Berner Symphonieorchester, Hamburg Symphony Orchestra, and the Stuttgart State Opera Orchestra. He has also appeared with the Pera Ensemble and the Al Ol Ensemble, collaborating with soloists including Barbara Hendricks, Olli Mustonen, and Edita Gruberová. In the late 2000s he issued the albums Etienne-Nicolas Méhul: L'Irato ou L'Emporté, Giovanni Paisiello: Passio di San Giovanni, and Harem: Les Fetes du Seraïlles. His 2019 recording Anton Zimmermann: Sinfonien earned a nomination for an OPUS KLASSIK award in the category of World Premiere Recording of the Year. Additional releases in the 2020s include Vivaldi, Paganini, Tartini, Schmittbaur: Symphonies and Giuseppe Gazzaniga: L'isola d'Alcina.
Born in Cologne in 1957, Ehrhardt turned to the study of historically informed performance during the closing years of the 1970s. His teachers included Franz Josef Maier and Sigiswald Kuijken for violin, while Karl-Heinz Bloemeke guided his conducting studies; he later worked further with Kato Havas and Renate Peter. As a founding member of the chamber orchestra Concerto Köln, he held the position of music director from 1985 until 2005. During that period the ensemble gained recognition for its distinctive approach to performance practice and for reviving overlooked scores by Baroque and Classical composers such as Francesco Durante, Franz Xaver Sterkel, and Evaristo Felice Dall'Abaco.
Toward the close of his time with Concerto Köln, Ehrhardt established the orchestra l'arte del mondo and took on guest-conducting engagements with several European ensembles, among them the Berner Symphonieorchester, Hamburg Symphony Orchestra, and the Stuttgart State Opera Orchestra. He has also appeared with the Pera Ensemble and the Al Ol Ensemble, collaborating with soloists including Barbara Hendricks, Olli Mustonen, and Edita Gruberová. In the late 2000s he issued the albums Etienne-Nicolas Méhul: L'Irato ou L'Emporté, Giovanni Paisiello: Passio di San Giovanni, and Harem: Les Fetes du Seraïlles. His 2019 recording Anton Zimmermann: Sinfonien earned a nomination for an OPUS KLASSIK award in the category of World Premiere Recording of the Year. Additional releases in the 2020s include Vivaldi, Paganini, Tartini, Schmittbaur: Symphonies and Giuseppe Gazzaniga: L'isola d'Alcina.
Albums
