Rei Ishizaka, Barockoboe
Born in Japan, Rei Ishikaza has lived in Milan since 1999.
She graduated with a degree in modern oboe from the Kyoto University of the Arts. Subsequently, she went to Italy to study Baroque oboe with Paolo Grazzi at the Civica Scuola di Milano and then at the Conservatorio F. E. dall’Abaco in Verona, from where she graduated with honors.
Rei works intensively with some of the most renowned ensembles and orchestras of early music, including the Accademia Bizantina (Ottavio Dantone), Europa Galante (Fabio Biondi), La Risonanza (Fabio Bonizzoni), Academia Montis Regalis (Alessandro De Marchi), Zefiro Ensemble (Alfredo Bernardini), Atalanta Fugiens (Vanni Moretto), Il Complesso Barocco (Alan Curtis), Venice Baroque Orchestra (Andrea Marcon), Bach Collegium Japan (Masaaki Suzuki), La Venexiana (Claudio Cavina), La Divina Armonia (Lorenzo Ghielmi), Il Pomo d’Oro (Riccardo Minasi), Modo Antiquo (Federico Sardelli) and La Cappella Della Pietà de ‘Turchini (Antonio Florio).
With them, Rei has performed in the most notorious concert halls in Europe, the United States, China and Japan.
Her artistic competence is also highlighted by her participation in many CD recordings.
Rei has been a soloist for various Vivaldi concerts, for example at the Opéra Royal (Château de Versailles), the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées (Paris) or the Hagia Eirene in Istanbul.
Mariella Cuchiero, Blockflöte und Barockoboe
Born in Linz, Austria, Mariella Cuchiero gained her recorder and instrumental pedagogy degrees, both with distinction, from the Anton-Bruckner-Privatuniversität under Michael Oman and at the Mozarteum Salzburg under Carin van Heerden, respectively. Mariella complemented her artistic education through master classes with Kees Boeke, Walter van Hauwe, Han Tol and the Amsterdam Loeki Stardust Quartett. She won several awards with the “Tricorder” recorder trio in different competitions, including the Gradus ad Parnassum (Austria) and the Premio Bonporti (Italy).
Mariella’s interest for the baroque oboe led her to the Conservatorio F. E. dall’Abaco in Verona, where she studied the oboe with Paolo Grazzi, as well as she followed courses with the Ensemble Zefiro.
She performs as an oboe and recorder player with early music ensembles such as Barucco, Capella Leopoldina, Bach Consort, Neue Münchner Hofkapelle, Academia Montis Regalis and the Irish Baroque Orchestra. Mariella also regularly participates in the Bach Cantatas cycle at the Wiener Konzerthaus, under Luca Pianca.
Her artistic accomplishment is complemented by repeated cooperation with the Bruckner orchestra for music theatre shows at the Landestheater in Linz, as well as several CD productions (among others, with Sony/DHM and Gramola).
Mariella is particularly attached to her long-standing teaching activities at the Linz music school, in the fields of the recorder and ensemble.
Sieglinde Grössinger, flûte traversière
Born in Salzburg, Austria, Sieglinde Größinger studied the modern and ancient transverse flute in Vienna, Graz, Oslo, Amsterdam and Brussels. Her teachers include Dieter Flury, Robert Wolf, Torkil Bye, Abbie de Quant, and for the baroque flute Barthold Kuijken, Frank Theuns and Marten Root.
She regularly gives concerts with renowned early music ensembles, such as Concentus Musicus Wien, L’Orfeo Barockorchester, Il Giardino Armonico, Armonia Atenea, Barucco Consort, Wiener Akademie, Bach Consort Wien, Salzburger Hofmusik, Münchner Hofkapelle, Dolce Risonanza, Harmony of Nations or the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment.
In 2018, she won the Ö1-Pasticcio Prize with her own Klingekunst Ensemble, for their original performance of the first Viennese flute concertos from the time of Maria Theresa.
Sieglinde is a member of the minui ensemble, as well as a long-time member of the contemporary music ensemble Platypus, with whom she has performed a large number of premieres.
She has given concerts at noted festivals (Salzburger Festspiele, Mozartwoche Salzburg, Styriarte, Wien Modern, Klangspuren Schwaz, Jeunesse, Trigonale, Osterklang Wien, Brunnenthaler Konzertsommer, or the Barockfestival St. Pölten), as well as taking part in tours in Europe, in Central and South America and in Asia.
Roswitha Dokalik, Barockgeige
Roswitha Dokalik was born in Vienna, Austria. She studied violin at the Hochschule für Musik und darstellende Kunst Wien and at the Konservatorium der Stadt Wien, under Eugenia Polatschek, as well as at the Anton Bruckner Privatuniversität in Linz, under Alfred Staar and Josef Sabaini. She graduated with distinction.
She studied baroque violin and historically informed interpretation under Michi Gaigg at the Anton Bruckner Privatuniversität in Linz and Enrico Gatti at the Koninklijk Conservatorium Den Haag, The Netherlands. She graduated with distinction.
Roswitha has taken master classes with Lynn Blakeslee, Andrew Manze, Catherine Mackintosh, Maggie Faultless and Sigiswald Kuijken.
During her studies, she was a substitute for the Brucknerorchester Linz and a member of the European Union Baroque Orchestra (EUBO), from 2004 to 2006.
She is a founding member of the Harmony of Nations Baroque Orchestra and a fellow of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. She collaborates with renowned musicians and conductors, such as Sir Simon Rattle, Giovanni Antonini, Ton Koopman, Alfredo Bernardini, Lars Ulrik Mortensen, Jordi Savall, Andrew Manze, and Christophe Rousset.
Roswitha performs both as a soloist and in ensembles at renowned European festivals, and has taken part in recordings and tours with L’Orfeo Barockorchester, Bach Consort Wien, Barucco, Les Talens Lyriques, Ricercar Consort, Aurora Ensemble, Pera Ensemble, Neue Hofkapelle Graz, dolce risonanza or the Phoenix Baroque Austria.
She teaches violin, viola and chamber music at the Freie Musikschule in Vienna.
Ivan Calestani, Barockfagott
Born in Parma, Italy, Ivan Calestani began studying bassoon aged 13 with Prof Leonardo Dosso at the Conservatorio di Parma. He finished his studies with a distinction in 1995. Ivan completed his artistic studies with Sergio Azzolini, Klaus Thunemann and Daniele Damiano.
Ivan began working with a number of orchestras very early in his career, including the Filarmonica Toscanini under Lorin Maazel, the Orchestra Haydn or the Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana di Lugano.
Between 2004 and 2011, he was employed as second bassoon and contrabassoonist at the Teatro Lirico di Cagliari, in Sardinia. Since 2011, Ivan has been living and working in Vienna, including with the RSO Wien, Wiener Kammerorchester, Tonkünstlerorchester Niederösterreich, Wiener Concertverein, Camerata Salzburg, Ensemble Kontrapunkte, Orchester Recreation Graz and the Styriarte Festival Orchester.
Ivan continues to be deeply engaged with the baroque and classical bassoon, for which he has been supported and inspired by Alberto Grazzi, Javier Zafra and Sergio Azzolini.
Ivan performs with eminent baroque orchestras, such as the Concentus Musicus Wien, Freiburger Barockorchester, Musiciens du Louvre, Ensemble Matheus, Europa Galante, I Barocchisti, Les Musiciens du Prince, Ensemble Zefiro and the Wiener Akademie.
Riccardo Coelati Rama, Violone
Riccardo Coelati Rama studied contrabass and viola da gamba at the Conservatorio F. E. dall’Abaco in Verona, from where he graduated with distinction.
In 2004 he was chosen as a contrabass player for the European Union Baroque Orchestra, under Lars Ulrik Mortensen.
Riccardo works intensely with some of the most renowned European ensembles and orchestras of early music, such as the Europa Galante (Fabio Biondi), Cordia Ensemble, Zefiro Ensemble, Il Pomo d’Oro, Il Suonar Parlante (Vittorio Ghielmi), I Barocchisti (Diego Fasolis), Il Complesso Barocco, Harmony of Nations Baroque Orchestra, Ensemble Aurora, Gambe di Legno Consort or Academia Montis Regalis.
He has performed in the most renowned concert halls in Europe, Asia and the United States, such as Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall in New York, the Barbican Center and Wigmore Hall in London, the Palau de la musica in Barcelona, the Opera City Hall in Tokyo, the Philharmonie and the Théâtre des Champs Elysées in Paris, the Auditorio Nacional de Música in Madrid, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam and the Sydney Opera House.
Riccardo’s discography includes more than 40 recordings with the most important labels, including Sony, Decca, EMI-Virgin, Brilliant Classics, Naïve, Deutsche Harmonia Mundi or even Erato.
Between 2014 and 2018 he was tutored in bass violin and contrabass at the Akademie für Alte Musik Bruneck, Italy.
Riccardo was also the editor of a special issue on the rediscovery of contrabass literature in Musedita’s “16 PIEDI” series.
Pietro Prosser, Laute
After completing his degree in classical guitar, the Italian Pietro Prosser dedicated himself to the extensive study of the lute at the Civica Scuola di Musica di Milano, at the Parma conservatory and at the Conservatorio Santa Cecilia in Rome with Andrea Damiani.
He completed further studies in musicology at the Università degli Studi di Pavia and the Scuola di Paleografia e Filologia Musicale di Cremona.
Pietro’s development as both an extraordinary soloist and continuo player is reflected in his regular collaboration with Renaissance and baroque ensembles, including the Academia Montis Regalis, Ensemble Zefiro, La Venexiana, I Solisti Veneti, Venice Baroque Orchestra, Piccolo Concerto Wien, Collegium 1704 (Prague) or Divino Sospiro (Lisbon).
Pietro recorded Johann Georg Albrechtsberger’s (ORF Alte Musik) double concerto for mandora, jaw harp and strings (ORF Alte Musik). He was also invited to represent Europe at the international lute meeting in Athens, along with the most famous oud players of Arabic culture.
He is recognized as one of the leading international experts in research on the mandora and calichon repertoires, focusing on source reading of tablature for the calichon and lute in the former Habsburg territory.
He teaches lute at the Trient conservatory.
Takashi Watanabe, Cembalo
graduated from the Tokyo College of Music, followed by postgraduate studies in harpsichord at the Tohō Gakuen School of Music. Having studied harpsichord for two years he won the Early Music Prize in Japan. From 2002 he studied harpsichord with Bob van Asperen at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam, and in 2005 he moved to Italy, to study historical organ with Lorenzo Ghielmi at the Scuole Civiche di Milano, graduating in 2010. As founder of Ensemble Ricreation d’Arcadia he won the first prize at “Premio Bonporti 2004” (president of the jury: Gustav Leonhardt) in Rovereto, Italy. The ensemble has since been invited to many early music festivals in Italy, Austria and Slovenia. He is in demand in Europe as a harpsichordist and organist, both as a soloist and as a continuo player and has played with such groups as Ensemble Cordia, Ensemble Zefiro, La Divina Armonia, etc. Between 2003 and 2008 he has been the conductor at the “Handel Festival Japan” in Tokyo, performing various operas and oratorios by Handel, which were received with great praise. In 2012, his first solo CD of J.S. Bach’s “Goldberg Variations” has won several CD awards. Since 2013 he has been teaching harpsichord and performance practice at the Hochschule der Künste Bern, Switzerland.