International Master Classes in early music
The International Master Classes will be held from September 1 to 4Â at the beautiful Casale di Santa Caterina near Bagno Vignoni in the township of San Quirico d’Orcia.
The classes will be directed towards both individual instrumentalists and chamber music groups who wish to deepen their studies of early music. The professors of this musical full immersion count as some of the most prestigious specialists in early music.
Both teachers and students will doubtless be inspired by the unrivaled beauty of the Val d’Orcia. In addition to daily individual lessons, there will be the opportunity for each participant to explore chamber music repertoire with other students. This will be made possible by the presence of a harpsichordist in residence in collaboration with the Piccola Accademia di Montisi.
THE TEACHERS
VIOLIN – Amandine Beyer
Amandine Beyer has been recognized for years as a point of reference in the interpretation of the Baroque repertoire. Her recording of the Sonatas & Partitas by J. S. Bach in 2012 received plaudits and consensus from the most prestigious international critics, including Diapason d’or de l’année, Choc de Classica de l’année, Editor’s choice de Gramophone, Prix Academie Charles Cros and Excepcional de Scherzo. Her rendition of Bach’s second Partita was choreographed and performed by Anne Theresa Keersmaeker and Boris Charmatz.
She performs regularly in the world’s most important concert halls and festivals (Théatre du Chatelet, Festival de Sablé, Innsbruck Festwochen, Konzerthaus of Vienna…). She divides her time between performing with various music ensembles : les Cornets Noirs, duos with Pierre Hantai, Kristian Bezuidenhout and Laurance Beyer as well as her own ensemble, “Gli Incogniti” (their CD’s devoted to Vivaldi’s Four Seasons and Corelli’s Concerti Grossi have been lauded by international critics as new high points in the performance of this repertoire).
Her other great passion is pedagogy. She teaches at ESMAE of Porto (Portugal, and also holds masterclasses worldwide (France, Taiwan, Brazil, USA and Canada). Since 2010 she has taught baroque violin at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis in Switzerland.
FLUTE – Manuel Granatiero
After studying modern flute with R. Guiot, I. Grafenauer, A. Persichilli, and A. Marion, in 1998 he decided to dedicate himself to early music. He was admitted to the Koninklijk Conservatorium in Brussels, where he studied baroque and classical flute with Barthold Kuijken and Marc Hantai, graduating with honors in 2004. Today, he is the principal flautist and the only official flutist of the ensemble Gli Incogniti, directed by Amandine Beyer, and collaborates with some of the leading orchestras specialized in historical performance, such as Les Talens Lyriques, Capella Cracoviensis, Ensemble Pygmalion, Accademia Bizantina, Le Concert de la Loge, and Orchestre des Champs Elysées.
He has recorded for prestigious labels such as Deutsche Grammophone, Decca, Sony, Naive, and Glossa. In 2004, he founded the ensemble Accademia Ottoboni in Rome. The album Boccherini, recorded with this ensemble, won the award for Best Recording of the Year 2015 in the “Baroque Instrumental” category from Diapason magazine. His solo album, Light and Darkness (2022), dedicated to the flute sonatas of C.P.E. Bach, received great critical acclaim, including the Diapason d’Or in March 2023 and the title of “Album of the Week” from Berlin’s Rbb-Kultur radio.
He currently teaches baroque, classical, and romantic flute in Italy at the conservatories of Cesena and Brescia and is regularly invited to give international masterclasses, such as at Urbino Musica Antica and the Cacciaconti Music Festival.
ALEXANDER TECHNIQUE – Aingeala De Búrca
She has performed with top Irish professional orchestras, prominent Irish rock bands, and in theatre productions. She has used her improvisational and compositional skills for creating music projects in educational, community and outreach settings.
In addition to drawing upon her extensive and varied performance experience, Aingeala uses her training as a music therapist and an Alexander Technique teacher to teach lessons that are specifically designed to bring out the best in every student.
Committed to the education of musicians and the development of their performance practices, Aingeala travels frequently throughout Europe to work with musicians.
Her unique classroom collaboration with Amandine Beyer focuses on helping violinists realise greater freedom of expression thereby achieving higher standards of mental and physical performance
Costs
PARTICIPANTS:
Entrance fee: €200 to be paid at the time of registration. In case of withdrawal, this amount will not be refunded.
Tuition: € 300 to be paid by August 15, 2025
IMPORTANT: Because of the high number of requests for entrance into the class of Amandine Beyer we ask prospective students to wait for a confirmation e-mail from us before paying the deposit of 200 euro. As soon as the e-mail is received, the student will have 10 days to complete payment, deadline beyond which the spot will be assigned to the first person on the waiting list.
NON PARTICIPANTS:
- 30 euro for each lesson
- 120 euro for the right to be present at any or all classes
N.B.: the tuition includes free accommodation in double rooms in and around Bagno Vignoni and San Quirico d’Orcia. We ask participants to report upon enrollment if they wish to use them or not. For those wishing different accommodations, please contact the us for help in finding the most convenient solution.