Capella de la Torre
Biography Capella de la Torre
Capella de la Torre
is proud to be one of the leading ensembles for early wind music worldwide. The group was founded in 2005 by the oboist and shawm specialist Katharina Bäuml, and since then has newly inspired its audiences over and over again in over one thousand concerts, 20 CDs to date, and numerous live recordings. Through these experiences, the ensemble has garnered extensive experience in the music of the fourteenth though seventeenth centuries. In 2016 Capella was awarded the "Ensemble of the Year" ECHO Klassik prize. 2017 the ensemble was again awarded the ECHO Klassik prize for the CD "Da Pacem - Echoes of the Reformation".
2018 Capella de la Torre is one of the first OPUS Klassik winners - the ensemble was awarded for the CD "Serata Venexiana".
In order to make the music of past centuries sound fresh for modern ears, current historical and musicological research plays a vital role in Capella de la Torre's programs. Especially important is the work with original sources and texts. In addition to concerts, another focus of the ensemble is its work with young audiences though numerous outreach and education projects.
The name "Capella de la Torre" can be understood two ways: in the beginning of the sixteenth century, the Spaniard Francisco de la Torre composed perhaps the most famous piece for a wind ensemble, his "Danza Alta." In addition to this homage to the composer, the name can be understood literally. "De la torre" means "from the top of the tower." Wind ensembles of the time often played from the top of towers and on balconies.
Katharina Bäuml
A native of Munich, Katharina Bäuml studied modern oboe, and baroque oboe and historical reed instruments, finishing both degrees with honors. Since then she has specialized in myriad areas of early music, but her particular interest has been in wind music of the fifteenth through seventeenth centuries. This interest led her, in 2005, to found the ensemble "Capella de la Torre," which has become the most important German ensemble for Renaissance music. The group has produced twenty CDs, and since 2013 has recorded exclusively for Sony. In 2016 Katharine Bäuml won the ECHO Klassik award with Capella de la Torre for their CD "Water Music". In addition to early music, her interests include contemporary music played on historical instruments, leading to numerous commissions for her ensemble "Duo Mixtura," which have been performed at such prestigious festivals as the Berlin "Ultraschall" festival, among others. As the artistic director of several festivals and concert series, Ms. Bäuml continues to initiate projects which connect jazz and the music of the early modern period. Most recently she has assumed the artistic direction of the series "Musica Ahuse" in the Romanesque Cloister Auhausen, where renowned leading early music ensembles perform each year. Ms. Bäuml teaches in Berlin and regularly gives master classes in Genf (Switzerland), Hanover, and Lübeck.