Concerto Valiante (Instrumental Ensemble)

Founded: 2010 - The Hague, the Netherlands

Concerto Valiante is an organization that was born in 2010 from the passion of harpsichordist Leonardo Valiante, born in Montevideo, Uruguay, and that focuses on Baroque music in its broadest form.

ConcertoValiante works with students and graduates of the Royal Conservatory in The Hague. The soloists and musicians come from all over the world to the Netherlands to enhance their artistic talents and qualities through studies at conservatories in the Netherlands. Their preference is for students and graduates who easily play together with others and understand the workings of body and mind. They work efficiently and seriously with every musician of the Baroque ensemble in collaboration with coordinator Nelly Straatjes. They offer inspiring programs and conduct intense research into known and unknown Baroque composers from Europe and bring these composers to life in different performances.

They started George Frideric Handel's opera Orlando in 2012 under the name Concerto Valiante, G.F. Handel's opera Rodelinda in 2014 and G.F. Handel's opera Ottone and Antonio Vivaldi's opera Catone in Utica, all released in The Hague and / or Utrecht. In July 2017, opera Ottone in Uruguay was performed with a Uruguayan cast and Baroque ensemble. In October 2017 they performed Catone in Utica in theater Dakota The Hague. Of all the operas released so far, highlights are performed in advance by the soloists and musicians to familiarize them and the audience with the beautiful sounds of the Baroque period.

The Baroque ensemble of Concerto Valiante also regularly performs in the Kloosterkerk and the Emmauskerk in The Hague, they provide chamber concerts in, among others, the Rijksmuseum voor Oudheden, Festival Oude Muziek in Utrecht, Oud Catholic Church in Delft, Westerkerk in Amsterdam, Titus Bradsmakerk in The Hague and the Pauluskerk in Oegstgeest.

Regular musicians of the Baroque ensemble Concerto Valiante include concert-master John Ma, James Hewitt, Dorota Gorlow, Federico Forla, Tiziano Teodori, Xiangji Zeng, Lena Rademann, Amandine Menuge, Yussif Barakat and Balazs Tóth. Leonardo Valiante is the heart of the ensemble on harpsichord.

History

Concerto Valiante Baroque is an organization, established in The Hague since 2010 as a company, that focuses on baroque opera and chamber music. All members of the ensemble are students and graduates of the Royal Conservatory in The Hague. The goal of ConcertoValiante is to connect students and graduates of conservatories, offer them a stage experience and learn new techniques of playing.

Since 2010, the Baroque ensemble has performed in The Hague and surroundings (including Castle Oud Poelgeest in Oegstgeest), Amsterdam and Utrecht. The ensemble has also performed at Festival Oude Muziek.

The most known works performed by Concerto Valiante are:
In 2012 G.F. Handel's opera Orlando with five soloists, including countertenor Leandro Marziotte, widely known at home and abroad.
In 2014, G.F. Handel's opera Rodelinda with six soloists, with soprano Mariana Pimenta.
In 2016 G.F. Handel's opera Ottone with five soloists including Mariana Pimenta, counter-tenor Mattias Pavlous, Luise Kim, Andrea Tjäder, Rut Codina Palacio and Dody Soetanto.
In 2017, Antonio Vivaldi's opera Catone in Utica with five soloists including Mariana Pimenta, Mattias Pavlous and soprano Andrea Tjäder and tenor Carlos Monteiro.
In 2018 J.S. Bach's Cantata BWV 210 and arias from G.F. Handel's Cleopatra with soprano Cally Youdell and the Baroque ensemble, flute concert TWV 51:D2 of Telemann with traverso Tiziano Teodori and cellosonata No. 4 of G. B. Platti with cellist Tomas Kardos.

They perform annually in the Kloosterkerk and Abdijkerk in The Hague during lunchpause concerts. They also do projects with singing teacher Coen Honig and his students in the region of The Hague.

Since late 2018, Concerto Valiante Baroque has become a cultural foundation with ANBI status.

In 2019 Concerto Valiante Baroque performed several instrumental and vocal concerts in The Hague, Oegstgeest. Through the collaboration of conductor Dody Soetanto they were in contact with his choir and in December 2019 Concerto Valiante performed J.S. Bach's Christmas Oratorio (BWV 248) with the choir Collegium Utrecht, four international soloists of the Royal Conservatoire and the Baroque ensemble consisting of twelve musicians (Oude or Barbarakerk Culemborg and Emmauskerk).

Sources:
Concerto Valiante Website
Bits & pieces from other sources
Contributed by Aryeh Oron (March 2024)

Recordings of Bach Cantatas & Other Vocal Works

Conductor

As

Works

Coen Honig

Orchestra

[PV-1] (2016, Video): G.F. Handel: Brockes Passion, HWV 48

Recordings of Bach’s Instrumental Works

Links to other Sites

Concerto Valiante (Official Website) [Dutch/English]