For now 30 years, Musica Antiqua Köln under the leadership of Reinhard Goebel has performed in virtually every known musical centre and festival for early music, and has become the quintessence of a lively and virtuosic interpretation of the music of the 17th and 18th centuries, and of an ingenious and imaginative engagement in historical performance practice.
Founded in 1973 by Reinhard Goebel and fellow students from the Conservatory of Music in Cologne, Musica Antiqua Köln initially devoted itself to the performance of chamber and sacred music of the Baroque. In 1979, Musica Antiqua Köln attained its international breakthrough with the ensemble's debut at London's Queen Elizabeth Hall, and with five concerts at the Holland Festival. On the occasion of its 10th anniversary, the ensemble broadened its forces and for the first time made appearances as a full orchestra, establishing itself in both concerts and recordings with works for the orchestral repertoire. Since 1981, the ensemble, with Reinhard Goebel as their concertmaster, has regularly made concert tours of the USA, as well as several appearances in Australia and South America, and in 1985 on the occasion of the 'Bach Year' even traveled to the People's Republic of China. Musica Antiqua Köln received the Buxtehude Prize from the City of Lübeck and has also received awards from Siemens and the State of Nordrhein-Westfalen. In 1981, the ensemble was elected 'Artists of the Year' by the Deutsche Phonoakademie.
Reinhard Goebel was born in Siegen in 1952 and studied at the Conservatory of Music in Cologne with Franzjosef Maier, before furthering his studies with Saschko Gawriloff at the Folkwangschule in Essen, followed by an extensive course of study with Eduard Melkus as well as several years under the guidance of Marie Leonhardt. Additionally, Reinhard Goebel studied musicology for several years at the University of Cologne, where he laid the foundation for his vast knowledge of the repertoire of early music, a knowledge which renders the concerts and recordings of Musica Antiqua Köln a particular characteristic and distinct quality. Reinhard Goebel and Musica Antiqua Köln have enriched and enlarged the general awareness and knowledge of Baroque music like no other artist today has. In 1997 Reinhard Goebel was awarded the State Prize of the State of Nordrhein Westfalen for his 'exemplary interpretation of the familiar as well as of the unknown music of the 17th and 18th century', with Musica Antiqua Köln and its 'stimulating research transmitting new knowledge in the field of Baroque, Rococo, and Early Classical music'.
Musica Antiqua Köln and Reinhard Goebel have been under exclusive recording contract with Archiv Produktion since 1978. The exquisiteness and uniqueness of the choice of repertoire have been emphasized by the recording prizes received by the ensemble, presented manifold with the 'Grand Prix International du Disque' and the 'Gramophone Award'. The recording of Heinichen's Dresden Concerti became a sensational world success and received promptly five coveted honors: the 'Jahrespreis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik' 1993, the 'Gramophone Award' 1993, the 'Prix Caecilia' 1993, the 'Schallplattenpreis Echo-Klassik' 1994, and the 'CD Compact Award' 1994.
Reckoned among the most successful of the ensemble's recordings is the release of Handel's Marian Cantatas and Arias with Anne Sofie von Otter, which was distinguished with the 'CD Compact Award' 1995 in the category 'Barock Vocal', as well as a CD with orchestral works of Heinichen, Veracini, Quantz, Dieupart, and Pisendel entitled Concerti per l'orchestra di Dresda, in addition to a recording of Johann Adolf Hasse's Salve Regina Compositions with Bernarda Fink and Barbara Bonney.
Among younger releases for Deutsche Grammophon Archiv-Produktion are the joint recording with the Gabrieli Consort & Players of the Missa Salisburgensis, presumably composed by Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber in 1682 on the occasion of the 1100th anniversary of the Salzburg Cathedral (rereleased as SACD in 2003), as well as an Album with the mezzo-soprano Anne Sofie von Otter entitled Lamenti, distinguished with the 'Diapason d'or'. In July 1999, Musica Antiqua Köln produced the soundtrack to the film Le roi danse by the Belgian director Gerard Corbiau, who has become well-known through his direction of the film Farinelli.
Ever since then, Musica Antiqua Köln has embarked onto two recording projects: one CD series, by now comprising two releases, is dedicated to yet unrecorded compositions by Georg Philipp Telemann, certainly one of Germany's most prolific and wittiest Baroque composers. The first recording of this series was nominated for the GRAMMY, and for the same recording, Reinhard Goebel received the Telemann-Preis der Stadt Magdeburg. The second, equally successful project is a series of CDs entitled Bachiana, which explores the works of J. S. Bach's lesser known relatives.