Lars Ulrik Mortensen (born 1955) is a Danish

harpsichordist A harpsichordist is a person who plays the harpsichord. Harpsichordists may play as soloists, as accompanists, as chamber musicians, or as members of an orchestra, or some combination of these roles. Solo harpsichordists may play unaccompanied son ...

and conductor, mainly of Baroque solo music, chamber music and early music repertory. He was a professor in Munich in 1996–99 and has since then been artistic director of Concerto Copenhagen. He received the

Léonie Sonning Music Prize The Léonie Sonning Music Prize, or Sonning Award, which is recognized as Denmark's highest musical honor, is given annually to an international composer or musician. It was first awarded in 1959 to composer Igor Stravinsky. Laureates are now s ...

in 2007.

Early life and education

Lars Ulrik Mortensen was born in 1955. His father was the conductor Bent Mortensen. He studied with Karen Englund ( harpsichord) and Jesper Bøje Christensen (

figured bass Figured bass is musical notation in which numerals and symbols appear above or below (or next to) a bass note. The numerals and symbols (often accidentals) indicate intervals, chords, and non-chord tones that a musician playing piano, harpsi ...

) at The Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen and with

Trevor Pinnock Trevor David Pinnock (born 16 December 1946 in Canterbury, England) is a British harpsichordist and conductor. He is best known for his association with the period-performance orchestra The English Concert, which he helped found and direct ...

in London.

Career

He has a career as a soloist and chamber musician in Europe, North and South America and Japan. From 1988 to 1990 he was harpsichordist in London Baroque, and from 1990 to 1993 he was a member of

Collegium Musicum 90 Collegium Musicum 90 is an English baroque orchestra playing on period instruments. It was founded by violinist Simon Standage and conductor Richard Hickox in 1990 and was jointly directed by them (either together or separately) until the death o ...

. He appears regularly with singer

Emma Kirkby Dame Carolyn Emma Kirkby, (; born 26 February 1949) is an English soprano and early music specialist. She has sung on over 100 recordings. Education and early career Kirkby was educated at Hanford School, Sherborne School for Girls in Dorse ...

, violinist John Holloway and cellist and

gambist The viol (), viola da gamba (), or informally gamba, is any one of a family of bow (music), bowed, fretted, and stringed instruments, stringed instruments with hollow wooden bodies and Tuning mechanisms for stringed instruments, pegboxes where ...

Jaap ter Linden. He has recorded for Archiv Produktion (3rd harpsichord in

Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the ''Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard wor ...

's 3- and 4-harpsichord concerti with

The English Concert The English Concert is a baroque orchestra playing on period instruments based in London. Founded in 1972 and directed from the harpsichord by Trevor Pinnock for 30 years, it is now directed by harpsichordist Harry Bicket. Nadja Zwiener ha ...

), harmonia mundi, Kontrapunkt and da capo and his recording of Bach's

Goldberg Variations The ''Goldberg Variations'', BWV 988, is a musical composition for keyboard by Johann Sebastian Bach, consisting of an aria and a set of 30 variations. First published in 1741, it is named after Johann Gottlieb Goldberg, who may also hav ...

won him a ''Diapason d'Or''. He is the artistic director of Concerto Copenhagen, and appears regularly directing opera at the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen. He is also the artistic director of the

European Union Baroque Orchestra The European Union Baroque Orchestra (EUBO) is a training initiative which allows young performers of baroque music from the European Union to gain orchestral experience as part of their career development. Its purpose is to bridge the gap betwee ...

since 2004. He was professor of harpsichord and performance practice at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

from 1996 to 1999. In 2007 he was awarded the

, Denmark's premier music award.

Recordings

* Dietrich Buxtehude (chamber music) :''"Buxtehude – Seven Sonatas, Op.1"'' (1994, Dacapo) :''"Buxtehude – Seven Trio Sonatas, Op.2"'' (1994, Dacapo) :''"Buxtehude – Six Sonatas"'' (1994, Dacapo) * Dietrich Buxtehude (solo works) :''"Dietrich Buxtehude – Harpsichord Music, Vol. 1"'' (1998, Dacapo) :''"Dietrich Buxtehude – Harpsichord Music, Vol. 2"'' (1998, Dacapo) :''"Dietrich Buxtehude – Harpsichord Music, Vol. 3"'' (1998, Dacapo) * Dietrich Buxtehude (Vocal music) :''"Dietrich Buxtehude – Vocal Music, Vol.1"'' (1996, Dacapo) *

Georg Philipp Telemann Georg Philipp Telemann (; – 25 June 1767) was a German Baroque composer and multi-instrumentalist. Almost completely self-taught in music, he became a composer against his family's wishes. After studying in Magdeburg, Zellerfeld, and Hild ...

(Flute sonatas with accompaniment) :''"Telemann: 6 Recorder Sonatas"'' (Kontrapunkt) *

Johann Adolph Scheibe Johann Adolph Scheibe (5 May 1708 – 22 April 1776) was a German-Danish composer and significant critic and theorist of music. Though much of his theoretical work survives, most of his compositions are lost, though the extant ones demonstrate a ...

, Martin Ræhs (flute Sonatas with accompaniment) :"Flute Sonatas" (2002, Dacapo) * Johann Jacob Froberger (Solo works for cembalo) :''"Johann Jacob Froberger – Harpsichord Music"'' (1990, Kontrapunkt) *

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard wo ...

(Solo works for cembalo) :''"Bach: 8 suites in French style, BWV 812–819"'' (2005, Kontrapunkt) :''"Bach: Clavierübung Zweiter Teil"'' (2005, Kontrapunkt) :''"Bach:

"'' (2005, Kontrapunkt)

External links

Biography
(in English)
Interview, danishmusic.info
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mortensen, Lars Ulrik Danish conductors (music) Male conductors (music) Danish performers of early music Danish harpsichordists Living people Danish classical musicians Royal Danish Academy of Music alumni Bach conductors Bach musicians Recipients of the Léonie Sonning Music Prize 1955 births 21st-century conductors (music)