ABOUT ENSEMBLE CAPRICE
Since it was founded by flautist Matthias Maute three decades ago, Ensemble Caprice has made its mark as one of the most sought-after ensembles on the classical music scene. Caprice has gained a solid reputation for its innovative programming and vibrant, compelling performances.
The musicians of Ensemble Caprice have travelled to the four corners of the globe, giving performances in dozens of countries on four continents. The Ensemble’s tours have taken its members to Asia, China, Taiwan, Africa, Morocco, Tunisia and South Africa as well as several European Countries and the Americas. It has been the featured guest ensemble in many prestigious festivals, including the Lufthansa Festival of Baroque Music in London, festivals in Bruges (Belgium) and Utrecht (the Netherlands), the Felicia Blumental International Music Festival in Tel Aviv, and, in Germany, the Musikfestspiele Potsdam Sanssouci, the Early Music Days in Regensburg, the Händel-Festspiele in Halle, and the Stockstadt Festival. In the USA, the group has performed at New York City’s Miller Theater and Frick Collection, the Boston Early Music Festival, and the Library of Congress in Washington D.C. In Canada, the Ensemble has been heard in Ottawa at the Music and Beyond Festival and the Ottawa Chamber Music Festival; it has performed at Early Music Vancouver, Early Music Voices in Calgary, the Edmonton Chamber Music Society, the Elora Festival and the International Festival Domaine Forget. This impressive roadmap bears witness to the fact that Caprice is recognised as being one of today’s leading baroque ensembles. In 2009, the New York Times devoted a full article to the Ensemble, praising it as a progressive force on the contemporary musical scene.
Besides its international tours, the group performs a regular Montreal concert series in the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts’ Bourgie Hall.
More than 20 albums released
Ensemble Caprice also has a flourishing recording career, with some twenty recordings on the Analecta, ATMA Classique and Antes labels, sold in nearly 50 countries. These recordings have received numerous critical distinctions, including the Canadian Recording Industry’s Prix Juno for Gloria! Vivaldi and his Angels, and four Prix Opus awards from the Music Council of Quebec including a “Performer of the Year” award and a “Concert of the Year” award for the Ensemble’s performances of Antonio Vivaldi’s Juditha Triumphans, Bach’s B Minor Mass (performed as part of the Montreal Bach Festival), and Le Faste de la France, given in collaboration with the Studio de Musique ancienne de Montréal. Caprice’s unique artistic approach has also been recognised by the Montreal Arts Council, which honoured it with the “Public’s Choice” award, and it was among the music finalists for the Grand Prix de Montréal. The ensemble has also received other important nominations from Germany’s Prix Echo Klassik, the Prix Opus committee, and the Association québécoise de l’Industrie du Disque. The prestigious magazine Gramophone included the Ensemble’s recording Telemann and the Baroque Gypsies on its list of recommended CD’s.
