About Bruce Dickey
Bruce Dickey is one of a handful of musicians worldwide who have dedicated themselves to reviving the cornetto – once an instrument of great virtuosi, but which lamentably fell into disuse in the 19th century. The revival began in the 1950s, but it was largely Bruce Dickey, who, from the late 1970s, created a new renaissance of the instrument, allowing the agility and expressive power of the cornetto to be heard once again. His many students, over more than 30 years of teaching at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis, have helped to consolidate and elevate the status of this once forgotten instrument. For his achievements the Historic Brass Society awarded him in 2000 the prestigious Christopher Monk Award for “his monumental work in cornetto performance, historical performance practice and musicological scholarship.” In 2007 he was honored by British conductor and musicologist Andrew Parrott with a “Taverner Award” as one of 14 musicians whose “significant contributions to musical understanding have been motivated by neither commerce nor ego.”
In the course of his long career as a performer and recording artist he has worked with most of the leading figures in the field of early music, including the legendary pioneers of historically informed perfomance, Gustav Leonhardt, Frans Brüggen and Nikolaus Harnoncourt. He was a member for over ten years of Jordi Savall’s Hesperion XX, and has frequently and repeatedly collaborated with Ton Koopman, Monica Huggett, Philippe Herreweghe and many others. Of special importance has been his long-time friendship and collaboration with Andrew Parrott, and in more recent years with Konrad Junghänel.
Bruce Dickey can be heard on countless recordings. His solo CD (“Quel lascivissimo cornetto…”) on Accent with the ensemble Tragicomedia was awarded the Diapason d’or. His second solo CD, entitled “La Bella Minuta”, was released on the Passacaille label in 2011, and was described as “simply a brilliant recording.”
In addition to performing, Bruce Dickey is much in demand as a teacher, both of the cornetto and of seventeenth-century performance practice. In addition to his regular class at the Schola Cantorum he has taught at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague, the Accademia Chigiana in Siena, and the Early Music Institute at Indiana University, as well as master classes in the United States, Canada, Europe and Japan. He is also active in research on performance practice, and has published, together with Michael Collver, a catalog of the surviving cornetto repertoire, and, together with trumpeter Edward Tarr, a book on historical wind articulation. In 1997, together with his wife Candace Smith, he founded Artemisia Editions, a small publishing house which produces editions of music from 17th-century Italian convents.
In 1981, Bruce Dickey moved to Italy, partly to be closer to the origins and source materials for his instrument and its music. He currently lives with his wife and daughter in a country house, surrounded by vineyards, outside of Bologna, home of the original Concerto Palatino.
About Hana Blažíková
Hana Blažíková, soprano, was born in Prague. As a child she sang in a children’s choir called Radost Praha and played violin. Later she turned to solo singing. In 2002 she graduated from the Prague Conservatory in the class of Jiří Kotouč and later undertook further study with Poppy Holden, Peter Kooij, Monika Mauch and Howard Crook.
Today Hana specializes in the interpretation of baroque, renaissance and medieval music, performing with ensembles and orchestras around the world, including Collegium Vocale Gent (Philippe Herreweghe), Bach Collegium Japan (Masaaki Suzuki), Sette Voci (Peter Kooij), Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra (Ton Koopman), L’Arpeggiata, Gli Angeli Geneve, La Fenice, Tafelmusik, Collegium 1704, Collegium Marianum, Musica Florea, among others.
Hana Blažíková has performed at many world festivals, including Prague Spring, Oude Muziek Utrecht, Resonanzen (Vienna), Tage Alter Musik (Regensburg), Festival de Sablé, Festival de La Chaise – Dieu, Festival de Saintes, Arts festival Hong Kong.
In 2010 and 2013 she took part in a highly praised world tour with St. Matthew’s Passion under the direction of Philippe Herreweghe, and in 2011 she made her debut in Carnegie Hall with Masaaki Suzuki’s Bach Collegium Japan. She also sang a soprano part of St. John’s Passion with Boston Symphony Orchestra during the Easter period of 2011. In November 2014 she participated in the stage production “Orfeo chaman” with L’Arpeggiata in Bogota.
Hana appears on more than 30 CDs, including the well-known series of Bach’s cantatas with Bach Collegium Japan. Hana also plays gothic harp and presents concerts in which she accompanies herself on that instrument. She is also a member of Tiburtina Ensemble, which specializes in the Gregorian chant and early medieval polyphony.
Upcoming Performances
Breathtaking – April 28, 2018