The Monteverdi-Chor Hamburg is a mixed choir in Hamburg, the chamber choir of the University of Hamburg since 1961. Founded in 1955 by Jürgen Jürgens and directed by him until 1994, it is one of Germany's most famous concert choirs. The choir is well known for its interpretations of Baroque and Renaissance music,[1] but covers choral music from the Renaissance to contemporary music. Since 1994, the conductor has been Gothart Stier.
History
The choir was founded in 1955 as the "Chor am Italienischen Kulturinstitut" (Choir at the Italian Cultural Institute), but renamed the same year after Claudio Monteverdi, then a largely unknown composer.[2] Since 1961 it has been the chamber choir of the University of Hamburg, where Jürgens worked as a director of music from 1961 to 1993.[3]
After four years of intensive preparation, the Monteverdi-Chor won first prize at the international choral competition Concorso Polifonico Internazionale "Guido d'Arezzo" in Arezzo, Italy, in 1959. In 1962, it won first prize also at the international competition in Lille, France.
Claudio Monteverdi: Vespro della Beata Vergine, Barbara Schlick, Ine Kollecker, John Elwes, Wilfried Jochens, Holger Hampel, Christfried Biebrach, Gustav Hehring, Camerata Accademica Hamburg, cond: Jürgen Jürgens [1987], Ambitus 383826.
Anton Bruckner Music of the St. Florian Period, Jürgen Jürgens, Monteverdi-Chor Hamburg and Israel Chamber Orchestra [1984], BSVD-0109, 2011 (Bruckner Archive Production)
Anton Bruckner Music of St Florian Period (II), Jürgen Jürgens, Monteverdi-Chor Hamburg and Israel Chamber Orchestra [1984], BSVD-0111 (Bruckner Archive Production)