Christina Pluhar (born 1965,

Graz Graz () is the capital of the Austrian Federal states of Austria, federal state of Styria and the List of cities and towns in Austria, second-largest city in Austria, after Vienna. On 1 January 2025, Graz had a population of 306,068 (343,461 inc ...

, Austria) is a theorbist, harpist, conductor, and the founder of the early music ensemble ''

L'Arpeggiata L'Arpeggiata is a European early music group led by Christina Pluhar, and founded by her in 2000. The group has presented both traditional early music and also several collaged and themed performances and recordings. The group focuses on Italian ...

''.Rencontre : Christina Pluhar fête les 15 ans de "L'Arpeggiata" ce week-end
''francetvinfo.fr'', 12/11/2015.Christina Pluhar - Luthiste, théorbiste, guitariste et harpiste autrichienne (1965, Graz, Autriche - )
/ref> She discovered her passion for

early music Early music generally comprises Medieval music (500–1400) and Renaissance music (1400–1600), but can also include Baroque music (1600–1750) or Ancient music (before 500 AD). Originating in Europe, early music is a broad Dates of classical ...

while studying at the

University of Graz The University of Graz (, formerly: ''Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz'') is a public university, public research university located in Graz, Austria. It is the largest and oldest university in Styria, as well as the second-largest and second-old ...

and went on to specialize in the

lute A lute ( or ) is any plucked string instrument with a neck (music), neck and a deep round back enclosing a hollow cavity, usually with a sound hole or opening in the body. It may be either fretted or unfretted. More specifically, the term "lu ...

, theorbo, and

Baroque guitar The Baroque guitar (–1750) is a string instrument with five Course (music), courses of gut strings and moveable gut frets. The first (highest pitched) course sometimes used only a single string. History The Baroque guitar replaced the lute as ...

. She studied at the

Royal Conservatory of The Hague The Royal Conservatoire (, KC) is a conservatoire in The Hague, providing higher education in music and dance. The conservatoire was founded by King William I in 1826, making it the oldest conservatoire in the Netherlands. Since September 2021, t ...

and the

Schola Cantorum Basiliensis The Schola Cantorum Basiliensis (SCB) is a music academy and research institution located in Basel, Switzerland, that focuses on early music and historically informed performance. Faculty at the school have organized performing ensembles that hav ...

. In 1992, as a member of '' Ensemble La Fenice'', Pluhar won first prize at the Festival of Early Music in

Malmö Malmö is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, sixth-largest city in Nordic countries, the Nordic region. Located on ...

. Since then, she has been based in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, performing both as a soloist and as a

basso continuo Basso continuo parts, almost universal in the Baroque era (1600–1750), provided the harmonic structure of the music by supplying a bassline and a chord progression. The phrase is often shortened to continuo, and the instrumentalists playing th ...

player in the

Baroque music Baroque music ( or ) refers to the period or dominant style of Classical music, Western classical music composed from about 1600 to 1750. The Baroque style followed the Renaissance music, Renaissance period, and was followed in turn by the Class ...

scene. In 2000, she set up ''L'Arpeggiata''.

Discography

;Albums: *2004: ''Landi: homo fugit velut umbra'' *2004: ''Al Improvviso: Ciaconne, Bergamasche et un po' di folie'' *2004: ''Kapsberger: La Villanella'' *2004: ''La Tarantella: antidotum tarantulae'' *2005: ''Cavalieri: rappresentatione di anima et di corpo'' *2007: ''Los Impossibles'' *2009: ''Monteverdi: Teatro d'Amore'' *2010: ''Via Crucis'' *2011: ''Vespro della Beata Vergine'' *2012: ''Los Pajaros Perdidos'' *2013: ''Mediterraneo'' *2014: ''Music for a While'' *2015: ''Cavalli: L'amore innamorato'' *2016: ''Orfeo Chamán'' *2017: ''Händel Goes Wild'' *2018: ''Himmelsmusik'' *2021: ''Alla Napoletana'' *2023: ''Passacalle de la Follie'' *2024: ''Wonder Women'' *2025: ''Terra Mater''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pluhar, Christina 1965 births Living people Theorbists Austrian women conductors (music) 20th-century Austrian conductors (music) 21st-century Austrian conductors (music) Musicians from Graz University of Graz alumni 20th-century women musicians 21st-century women musicians Women performers of early music Musicians from Paris Erato Records artists