ConTAKT

9.10.24

A rather extravagant man
News about Johann Hieronymus Kapsberger

Guest Accademia degli Stravaganti: Anne Marie Dragosits (harpsichord),
Ulrike Hofbauer (soprano), Niels Pfeffer (theorbo)
Moderated by Ilse Strauß and Franz Gratl

The internationally successful Tyrolean musician Anne Marie Dragosits, winner of the Jakob Stainer Prize of the Province of Tyrol 2022, has spent the last few years intensively researching the life and work of a grand master of the early Baroque, Johann Hieronymus (or Giovanni Girolamo) Kapsberger. In her book Giovanni Girolamo Kapsperger - Ein ziemlich extravaganter Mann (Lucca 2020), which is as comprehensive as it is rich in content, she has published groundbreaking new findings on his biography and also reassessed the previous view of the work of the great lute virtuoso and composer. This exciting scientific journey of discovery is not over yet: She is still trawling through the archives and continues to find new documents. In the first part of the evening, she will talk about her research work and introduce us to Kapsberger's personality. In the second part, a concert lasting around an hour, she will take us on a journey into the musical world of the cosmopolitan master, who was born in Venice, went to school in Augsburg and established himself in Rome, with soprano Ulrike Hofbauer and lutenist Niels Pfeffer.

4.12.24

The monk in the rose garden
The life of the Carthusian monk and translator Heinrich Haller at the end of the Middle Ages

Guest Max Siller (Germanist), Ensemble Rosarum flores
Idea, concept and moderation Ilse Strauß and Franz Gratl

Max Siller, Professor of Germanic Medieval Studies at the University of Innsbruck (retired), will present an overview of the person and work of the Carthusian monk Heinrich Haller, who lived in the Schnals Charterhouse in the Middle Ages. As a monk, he was not allowed to leave his cell, but his translations took him on imaginated pilgrimages and fantastic journeys to other worlds, both terrible and paradisiacal. There will also be music of the time, including music by Oswald von Wolkenstein and from the exciting Codex 457 of the Innsbruck University Library, which comes from the Carthusian monastery in Schnals.

22.1.25

Tuba mirum. The trombone in classical and romantic music
Guest Bernhard Rainer and the Marini Consort Innsbruck
Idea, concept and moderation Ilse Strauß and Franz Gratl

As a continuation of one of our last ConTakt events, in which trombonist and musicologist Bernhard Rainer and the Marini Consort Innsbruck shed light on the trombone in the Renaissance and Baroque periods, we are now looking at the instrument's continued existence in the Classical and Romantic periods. The trombone proved to be long-lived and versatile. We will once again immerse ourselves in exciting worlds of sound - led by renowned specialists.

Tyrol has an extremely lively early music scene. A wide range of activities testify to the high level of local musicians and the intensive commitment of the organizers. The great acceptance by the public is proof of the special significance of this musical genre in the province. ConTakt sees itself as a platform for the early music scene in Tyrol and as an open forum for musicians, organizers and interested listeners. It offers a broad spectrum of different formats, ranging from discussions and lectures by musicians and instrument makers to discussion concerts and workshops with a didactic approach to presentations of instruments and collections. Ilse Strauß and Franz Gratl are responsible for the idea, concept and moderation. The event is sponsored by the Haus der Musik Innsbruck and Innsbruck Tourismus and supported and co-sponsored by the Tiroler Landesmuseen.

19.2.25

Rebellious songs: on 500 years of the Peasants' War
Guests include Robert Rebitsch, historian at the University of Innsbruck
Idea, concept and moderation Ilse Strauß and Franz Gratl

This event focuses on the peasant uprisings that broke out in many places in the Holy Roman Empire 500 years ago and went down in history as the "Peasants' Wars". In his latest book "Rebellion 1525", Tyrolean historian Robert Rebitsch has taken an in-depth look at the subject of these uprisings and, in particular, how they took shape in Tyrol. He recounts the events and offers some reassessments and corrections of clichéd images, for example with regard to the Tyrolean peasant leader Michael Gaismair. This is accompanied by songs and chants from the early 16th century that reflect the social conflicts.