sinfonia di vetro - when glass becomes music
Sinfonia di vetro is a German glass music ensemble formed in 1996, known worldwide for its performances of classical and contemporary repertoire. The ensemble incorporates all kinds of musical glasses and glass instruments, primarily built in its own workshop, lead by sinfonia di vetro founder Sascha Reckert. Glass Harmonica player Sascha Reckert resuscitated the world premiere of Richard Strauss' Die Frau ohne Schatten in its original version at the Salzburg Festival in 1991 on a historical glass harmonica. He then started to revive Gaetano Donizetti’s vision of Lucia di Lammermoor involving the glass harmonica at the Bavarian State Opera, initiating a revival of the original performance practice of works involving glass instruments.
The ensemble is dedicated to the performance of historical repertoire as well as premieres of contemporary works in various instrumentations. It is known for its collection of carefully restored historical instruments. The ensemble has also successfully introduced new glass instruments to the modern orchestra, such as the ‘Verrophone’, a modern glass harmonica now commonly used worldwide for performances of Lucia di Lammermoor, Die Frau ohne Schatten, W.A. Mozart’s Adagio & Rondo, KV 617, and contemporary classics, such as George Benjamin’s Written on Skin. Highlights of the ensemble include performances with the world’s leading opera houses, orchestras and chamber formations, such as Teatro alla Scala, Metropolitan Opera, Wiener Staatsoper, Bayerische Staatsoper, Berliner Philharmoniker, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Opéra de Paris, Bolshoi Theatre, Mariinsky Theatre, Teatro Real, New National Theatre Tokyo.
REPERTOIRE
OPERA On the opera stage, the ensemble and its soloists have appeared in Lucia di Lammermoor (Donizetti), Die Frau ohne Schatten (Strauss), Gisei (Orff), Written on Skin (Benjamin) and The Glass Harmonica (Eister).
ORCHESTRA Works utilizing a glass instrument comprise a vast range of genres and style from the 18th century to present, e.g., Carl Maria von Webers Adagio und Rondo, Camille Saint-Saëns’ The Carnival of the Animals, and B.A. Zimmermann’s Cello Concerto.
CHAMBER MUSIC A variety of original works are written for glass instruments, e.g., Adagio & Rondo, KV 617 (W.A. Mozart), Kleine Tonstücke für die Glasharmonika (Carl Leopold Röllig), as well as collaborations with contemporary composers (Rhett Brewer, Garry Eister, Anders Hillborg, Catherine Kontz, Paolo Marzocchi, Mithatcan Öcal, Michael Pelzel, Hristina Susak, Jörg Widmann).
THE ENSEMBLE
Sascha Reckert has spent more the three decades at the forefront of glass music research and the development of new instruments. Reckert moved beyond the workshop in the late-1980s when he started to perform original music and arrangements for a variety of glass instruments. He performs widely as both a soloist and chamber musician. Sascha Reckert has appeared with the Berlin Philharmonic and the Vienna Philharmonic, at international opera houses (including the Royal Opera House Covent Garden London, Opéra National de Paris, Teatro alla Scala Milan, National Theatre Tokyo, Semperoper Dresden, Bavarian State Opera Munich, Mariinsky Theater St. Petersburg, Teatro Real Madrid), and is featured on numerous recordings as well as radio and television broadcasts (e.g., with Anna Netrebko, Natalie Dessay, Diana Damrau, Elena Mosuc and Jessica Pratt). 2012 marked the release of the first recording of Lucia di Lammermoor based on the new critical edition (Ricordi), featuring solo glass harmonica alongside the Mariinsky Theater Ensemble under the baton of Valery Gergiev.
Sascha Reckert reconstructed numerous historical glass harmonicas. In 1983, Reckert invented the ‘Verrophone’, which uses tuned glass tubes on a chromatic scale. The vertically aligned design allows for the simultaneous sound of several notes. The instrument carries more acoustical volume than the historical glass harmonica and most other glass instruments and most often has a range from C3 to F6. In 1996, Reckert founded ensemble sinfonia di vetro, known worldwise for its events, which incorporate many kinds of glass instruments in its performances. The ensemble has participated in numerous world premieres with many works having been written specifically for him and the ensemble.
Award-winning glass harmonica player and pianist Philipp Marguerre has performed with sinfonia di vetro since 2002. He has appeared as soloist in productions at the Semperoper in Dresden, Teatro Real in Madrid (with Natalie Dessay), Vienna Staatsoper (with Anna Netrebko), Royal Opere House Covent Garden, Teatro alla Scala in Milan, Deutsche Oper Berlin, the San Francisco Opera, and at international music festivals such as the Salzburg Festival. He performs on glass instruments by Sascha Reckert, primarily devoting his performance practice to the Verrophone.
Philipp is interested in the research of historical glass music repertoire alongside his performing commitments, with many of his discovered works being revived and regularly programmed around the world. In 2006 he established a web-based publishing company (inter-note.com) and has since published many works for historical and modern glass instruments. Marguerre maintains a close collaboration with contemporary composers Garry Eister and George Benjamin, who have written works for him.
The contralto Ruth Baaten grew up with an unusually broad eclectic musical mixture ranging from Turkish taksim and Yiddish songs to contemporary classical music. Hailing from the Royal Conservatories of Music Brussels and Liège, she continued her education in master classes and lessons with, among others, Sara Mingardo (Centro di Musica Antica Naples), Barbara Schlick (Cologne) and Christina Piperno (Rome). Ruth’s musical versatility is founded in her studies of early Christian vocal practice and technique (Byzantine and Maronite singing) at the Institut International du Chant Sacré Paris, and in Bulgarian vocal techniques, which led her to work with the Bulgarian Voices Berlin.
Since 2009 she has been a permanent member of sinfonia di vetro. She had the opportunity to perform solo with orchestras such as the Brussels Philharmonics, Czech Radio Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, making her debuts in places like the Royal Albert Hall, De Bijloke Gent, Guggenheim Museum Bilbao. Her classical repertoire ranges from old to new music, from madrigal to opera and sprechgesang. In addition to her music studies, Ruth completed a double master's degree in musicology and art history at the Université Libre Brussels and the University of Göttingen, researching musical iconography in the art of the 20th century. Since 2009 she has been a permanent member of sinfonia di vetro and acts as its Managing Director.
Friedrich Heinrich Kern is a romantic wanderer crossing borders of genres and sounds. He performs on rusty pianos in dusty clubs and shines with otherworldly tones at the Metropolitan Opera. One of the few professional glass harmonica soloists worldwide, Friedrich began his musical journey with the piano and began composing at an early age. He then ventured to Korea to study traditional music and has since found a home in New York City. The mystique of New York City’s late-night urban soundscape provides the inspiration for his vision. Here, boundaries of classical music and pop aesthetics blur. Grand pianos and digital devices are juxtaposed with deconstructed beat patterns and the ethereal sounds of his glass harmonica.
Friedrich’s music captures a dimension of stillness and clarity of sound, a quality it shares with artists like Chilly Gonzalez, Nils Frahm, and Max Richter. Conventional methods of instrumentation and a classical education comprise his compositional tool kit. He moves freely between the worlds of electronic and acoustic music, unwilling to accept musical boundaries, languages, and any barriers between them. In addition to his solo and ensemble performances, he has composed works for acoustic and electronic instrumentations, ranging from solo piano to full orchestra. Musical connections shape his ideas. He has been collaborating and performing with sinfonia di vetro since 2002.
Sebastian Reckert received a comprehensive musical education prior to his studies, which included instrumental practice as well as music teaching and conducting. He expanded his knowledge in music theatre as an assistant director at the Eggenfelden Theatre and the Trier Theatre, and during guest performances at the Norske Opera in Oslo and the Harpa Concert Hall in Reykjavik. Sebastian Reckert also worked as assistant to the orchestra manager of the Munich Symphony Orchestra and trained as a volunteer in the dramaturgy of the Bavarian State Opera. Since 2016 Sebastian Reckert is a permanent member of sinfonia di vetro and plays glass harmonica at national and international events. He made his opera debut at the Teatro La Fenice in Venice.
A fierce champion of the Verrophone, he is enthusiastic about the solo and chamber music literature for glass instruments. Sebastian Reckert is a regular guest at music festivals (e.g., Toujours Mozart Offenbach and Lviv MozArt Festival) and chamber concerts. He founded musica forum in 2014 with the aim of promoting young musicians. The online social network www.musica-forum.com enables emerging artists to gain experience through concerts and workshops.
Rizumu Sugishita was born in Tokyo and began playing marimba at the age of five. She studied percussion instruments at the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music. During her studies she came into contact with the world of glass instruments; her lecturer Prof. Michiko Takahashi is regarded as Japan's glass music pioneer. After graduating with honors and winning several first prizes in competitions, Rizumu participated in a scholarship exchange program with Austria and continued her studies at the University Mozarteum with Prof. Peter Sadlo in Salzburg. She passed her diploma examination with distinction and as the best graduate of her year she also received the Bernhard-Paumgartner-Medal of the International Mozarteum Foundation.
Since 2013 she has been a member of the Camerata Salzburg as timpanist / percussionist. She performs regularly with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Orchestre National d'Île de France, Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, L'Orfeo Baroque Orchestra. From 2009 to 2013 she played in Martin Grubinger's The Percussive Planet Ensemble. Her repertoire ranges from baroque to classical and contemporary music. Rizumu’s is passionate about showcasing the vast capabilities of glass instruments and performed the Verrophone in Georg Benjamin’s opera Written on Skin.