Christina Pluhar (

Graz Graz (; sl, Gradec) is the capital city of the Austrian state of Styria and second-largest city in Austria after Vienna. As of 1 January 2021, it had a population of 331,562 (294,236 of whom had principal-residence status). In 2018, the popu ...

, 1965) is an Austrian theorbist,

harpist The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has a number of individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orc ...

conductor Conductor or conduction may refer to: Music * Conductor (music), a person who leads a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra. * ''Conductor'' (album), an album by indie rock band The Comas * Conduction, a type of structured free improvisation ...

, and director of

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, ...

ensemble.Herz Europas "Christina Pluhar ist eine der innovativsten Musikerinnen der Alte-Musik-Szene, die in ihren Projekten die Grenzen der Musikstile überschreitet und damit wie kaum ein anderer Künstler überzeugt." After studies at the

University of Graz The University of Graz (german: link=no, Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz, ), located in Graz, Austria, is the largest and oldest university in Styria, as well as the second-largest and second-oldest university in Austria. History The univers ...

, Christina Pluhar recognised her passion for ancient music. From then on, she devoted herself to playing the

lute A lute ( or ) is any plucked string instrument with a 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 "lute" can re ...

theorbo The theorbo is a plucked string instrument of the lute family, with an extended neck and a second pegbox. Like a lute, a theorbo has a curved-back sound box (a hollow box) with a wooden top, typically with a sound hole, and a neck extending out ...

and

baroque guitar The Baroque guitar (c. 1600–1750) is a string instrument with five 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 Renaissance lute ...

. She gained her knowledge at the

Royal Conservatory of The Hague The Royal Conservatoire ( nl, Koninklijk Conservatorium, 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 Nether ...

and at 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 ...

. Her teachers included Toyohiko Satoh,

Eugen Dombois Eugen Müller-Dombois (15 November 1931 – 9 May 2014) was a German lutenist and music teacher. He was a pioneer in the revival of the lute and early music revival. Biography He was born in Bethel, Germany, on 15 November 1931 to Georg Müller, ...

Hopkinson Smith Hopkinson Smith (born December 7, 1946) is an American lutenist and pedagogue, longtime resident in Basel, Switzerland. Smith was born in New York City, the son of architectural writer and photographer G. E. Kidder Smith. He graduated from Ha ...

, Paul O'Dette, Pat O'Brian and Jesper Bøje Christensen. She learned to play the baroque Arpa Doppia at the Scuola Civica di Milano with Mara Galassi. In 1992, as a member of the Ensemble La Fenice, she received the first prize at the Festival of Early Music in Malmö. Since then she has been living in Paris and performing as a soloist and as a basso continuo player in the baroque scene. With her ensemble

, founded in 2000, she plays at international festivals and makes recordings. In addition to her activities as a musician and ensemble director, Christina Pluhar has been teaching baroque harp at the

since 1999 and gives master classes at the University of Graz.

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’'' * References {{DEFAULTSORT:Pluhar, Christina 1965 births Living people Theorbists 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