Alice Harnoncourt (; 26 September 1930 – 20 July 2022) was an Austrian classical violinist. She was a pioneer in the movement of

historically informed performance Historically informed performance (also referred to as period performance, authentic performance, or HIP) is an approach to the performance of Western classical music, classical music, which aims to be faithful to the approach, manner and style of ...

, founding with her husband

Nikolaus Harnoncourt Johann Nikolaus Harnoncourt or historically Johann Nikolaus Graf de la Fontaine und d'Harnoncourt-Unverzagt; () (6 December 1929 – 5 March 2016) was an Austrian conductor, particularly known for his historically informed performances of music ...

the

Concentus Musicus Wien Concentus Musicus Wien (CMW) is an Austrian baroque music ensemble based in Vienna. The CMW is recognized as a pioneer of the period-instrument performance movement. History Nikolaus Harnoncourt and Alice Harnoncourt co-founded the CMW in 1953 ...

ensemble playing on period instruments, of which she was principal violinist.

Life and career

Born on 26 September 1930 in Vienna, Alice Hoffelner studied violin and other

stringed instruments String instruments, stringed instruments, or chordophones are musical instruments that produce sound from vibrating strings when a performer plays or sounds the strings in some manner. Musicians play some string instruments by plucking the st ...

. She first pursued a career as a soloist, but then became interested in

Baroque violin A Baroque violin is a violin set up in the manner of the baroque period of music. The term includes original instruments which have survived unmodified since the Baroque period, as well as later instruments adjusted to the baroque setup, and mode ...

, and studied it with , together with her future husband

. In 1953, they married and founded the

period instrument In the historically informed performance movement, musicians perform classical music using restored or replicated versions of the instruments for which it was originally written. Often performances by such musicians are said to be "on authentic ...

ensemble

(CMW). Their ensemble strongly influenced and changed the performance and recording of

early music Early music generally comprises Medieval music (500–1400) and Renaissance music (1400–1600), but can also include Baroque music (1600–1750). Originating in Europe, early music is a broad musical era for the beginning of Western classical m ...

by contemporary musicians, as it emphasized the use of period instruments, and knowledge about how to play them. She was the ensemble's

concertmaster The concertmaster (from the German ''Konzertmeister''), first chair (U.S.) or leader (U.K.) is the principal first violin player in an orchestra (or clarinet in a concert band). After the conductor, the concertmaster is the second-most signifi ...

and often played as a soloist, until 1985. Until 1968, she performed on a Jakob Stainer violin made in 1658. She switched to an instrument of 1665 vintage, also by a maker from the

Absam Absam is a municipality in the Innsbruck-Land District, Tyrol (state), Tyrol (Austria) situated at an altitude of 632 m, which had an area of 51.92 km2 and 6,776 inhabitants as January 2015. Geography Absam is 15 km from Innsbruck, ...

region of Austria. In addition to baroque violin, she performed on the ''pardessus de viole'' (the smallest form of the

viola da gamba The viol (), viola da gamba (), or informally gamba, is any one of a family of bowed, fretted, and stringed instruments with hollow wooden bodies and pegboxes where the tension on the strings can be increased or decreased to adjust the pitc ...

), viola and

viola d'amore The viola d'amore (; Italian for "viol of love") is a 7- or 6- stringed musical instrument with sympathetic strings used chiefly in the baroque period. It is played under the chin in the same manner as the violin. Structure and sound The viol ...

. She continued to perform with the CMW until her husband's retirement from conducting in December 2015, when she also retired from the ensemble.

Family

She was married to Harnoncourt from 1953 until his death on 5 March 2016. The couple had a daughter,

mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano or mezzo (; ; meaning "half soprano") is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A below middle C ...

Elisabeth von Magnus Elisabeth von Magnus (born Countess Elisabeth Juliana de la Fontaine und d'Harnoncourt-Unverzagt on 29 May 1954) is an Austrian classical mezzo-soprano. The daughter of conductor Nikolaus Harnoncourt and violinist Alice Harnoncourt, her pro ...

, and three sons. Their two surviving sons are Philipp and Franz. Their third son Eberhard, a

violin maker A luthier ( ; AmE also ) is a craftsperson who builds or repairs string instruments that have a neck and a sound box. The word "luthier" is originally French and comes from the French word for lute. The term was originally used for makers of ...

, died in 1990 in an automobile accident. Alice Harnoncourt died in Vienna on 20 July 2022 at the age of 91.

Publications

She published several books after her husband's death, editing his writings: * Alice Harnoncourt (ed.), Nikolaus Harnoncourt: ''Wir sind eine Entdeckergemeinschaft – Aufzeichnungen zur Entstehung des Concentus Musicus'', Salzburg 2017, * Alice Harnoncourt (ed.), Nikolaus Harnoncourt: ''Meine Familie'', Salzburg 2018, * Alice Harnoncourt (ed.), Nikolaus Harnoncourt: ''Über Musik – Mozart und die Werkzeuge des Affen'', Salzburg 2020,

Awards

Alice Harnoncourt was awarded the of Styria in 2003. As a player of the CMW, she received two

Echo Klassik The Echo Klassik, often stylized as ECHO Klassik, was Germany's major classical music award in 22 categories. The award, presented by the , was held annually, usually in October or September, separate from its parent award, the Echo Music Prize E ...

awards in 2006, for their recording of Handel's ''

Messiah In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (; , ; , ; ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of ''mashiach'', messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a ''mashiach'' ...

'' in the category vocal music, and for their recording of Mozart's early symphonies in the category symphonies until 1800. She received several awards together with her husband, such as the in 2011.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Harnoncourt, Alice 1930 births 2022 deaths Austrian performers of early music Austrian classical violinists Austrian classical viola d'amore players Concertmasters Musicians from Vienna Baroque-violin players Women classical violinists Women performers of early music 21st-century classical violinists 21st-century women musicians Harnoncourt family