Il Giardino Armonico
Il Giardino Armonico was founded in Milan in 1985 and comprises musicians from some of
Europe's leading music institutions, all of them specialists in performing on period
instruments. The ensemble's repertoire is principally concentrated on the music of the 17th
and 18th centuries. Depending on the demands of each program, the group can consist of 3-35
musicians.
Il Giardino Armonico is regularly invited to festivals all over the world and has
performed in the most important concert halls. Among them are the Concertgebouw in
Amsterdam, Wigmore Hall and the Barbican in London, Vienna's Musikverein and Konzerthaus,
Théâtre des Champs-Élysées and Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, Tonhalle in Zurich, Victoria
Hall in Geneva, Alte Oper Frankfurt, Staatsoper Unter den Linden im Schiller Theater in
Berlin, Glinka Kapella in St. Petersburg, Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, Oslo Konserthus,
Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels, Auditorio Nacional in Madrid, Oji Hall in Tokyo, Library
of Congress in Washington, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York, Sydney Opera
House, Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, and Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires.
For many years, Il Giardino Armonico recorded for Teldec Classics. The group's recordings
of works by Vivaldi and other 18th-century composers have been met with widespread acclaim
and received several major awards. Released under the title Il Proteo, its 1996
recording of several of Vivaldi's double and triple concertos for cello and orchestra, with
Christophe Coin as guest soloist, received a Gramophone Award and the Diapason
d'Or. Its recordings of Bach's "Brandenburg" Concertos were awarded with the Echo Klassik
Preis in 1998, and a CD dedicated to works by Locke and Biber won the Diapason d'Or in
1999. In 1999, Il Giardino Armonico released its acclaimed Vivaldi Album with
Cecilia Bartoli for Decca, which won a Grammy Award. In 2005, the ensemble's CD of Vivaldi
violin concertos with Viktoria Mullova for the English label Onyx won a Diapason d'Or. In
May 2008, Il Giardino Armonico signed an exclusive recording agreement with Decca /
L'Oiseau-Lyre. The ensemble has continued its innovative approach on this label, with
celebrations of music by Handel around the composer's anniversary year (2009).
Il Giardino Armonico has received the highest acclaim for both concerts and staged opera
productions, among them Monteverdi's L'Orfeo; Handel's Agrippina, Il
trionfo del tempo e del disinganno, La resurrezione, and Aci, Galatea e
Polifemo; and Pergolesi's La serva padrona. Since April 2007, Il Giardino
Armonico has been Resident Baroque Group of the Centro Cultural Miguel Delibes in
Spain.
Giovanni Antonini
Conductor Giovanni Antonini is well known for his interpretation of Baroque and Classical
repertoire. Born in Milan, he studied at the Milano Civica Scuola di Musica and at the
Centre de musique ancienne in Geneva.
Mr. Antonini is a founding member of Il Giardino Armonico, which he has led since 1989.
With this ensemble, he has appeared as conductor and soloist on the recorder and baroque
transverse flute, performing all over the word and collaborating with many prestigious
artists, including Christophe Coin, Katia and Marielle Labèque, Viktoria Mullova, and
Giuliano Carmignola. His collaboration with Cecilia Bartoli for the Vivaldi Album
won a Grammy Award in 2000.
Mr. Antonini has appeared as a guest conductor with Camerata Salzburg, Münchener
Kammerorchester, Rundfunk Sinfonieorchester Berlin, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Scottish
Chamber Orchestra, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, City of Birmingham Symphony
Orchestra, Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, and Berliner
Philharmoniker, and he is recording the complete Beethoven symphonies for Sony with the
Kammerorchester Basel.
Mr. Antonini's opera productions have included Handel's Aci, Galatea e Polifemo
in Vienna, Salzburg, and Salamanca (Spain); Cimarosa's Il matrimonio segreto in
Bolzano, Trento, Rovigo, and Liège (Belgium); and Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro and
Handel's Alcina at Teatro alla Scala.
With Il Giardino Armonico, Mr. Antonini has recorded numerous CDs, all of them well
received and several awarded with major prizes (Gramophone Award, Diapason d'Or,
and Choc du Monde de la Musique, among others).
More Info