Accademia degli Stravaganti

In the 17th century, the term Accademia not only referred to larger and well-organized associations of artists, scholars or intellectuals who intensively pursued a common goal, but also to more informal meetings of like-minded people who shared their passions and hobbies.

The Accademia degli Stravaganti wants to do both – we want to delve deep into the background of the music played through research and artistic exploration and live out musical passions as like-minded people.
The flexible formation offers exciting programmes that portray musicians of the Baroque era, open up previously unheard repertoire and place the familiar in new contexts.

The Stravaganti’s first projects are exemplary of this.
“Lucia”, a programme about the Frescobaldi pupil and singer Lucia Coppa Rivani, her patron Marchese Filippo Niccolini and his Accademia, was released with the label Albus in 2022: In a trio line-up with Ulrike Hofbauer, David Bergmüller and Anne Marie Dragosits, the Stravaganti play music by Frescobaldi, Kapsperger, Marazzoli, Carissimi and Caproli.
Our programme around Antonia Padoani Bembo was launched at the Innsbrucker Festwochen der Alten Musik in 2023, this time with a larger cast: with Ulrike Hofbauer, the violinists Leila Schayegh and Rahel Wittling and a continuo group with Julian Behr, Jonathan Pesek and Anne Marie Dragosits.

In January 2025 the Accademia presented a Renaissance-programme, “Gemalte Musik – das musikalische Umfeld der Familie Tintoretto” at the Festival Resonanzen in Vienna: with Maria Ladurner, Christine Gnigler and Anne Marie Dragosits.

In 2025 and 2026 the group’s projects are revolving around Giovanni Girolamo Kapsperger: with our trio- programme “Io amo, io ardo, io moro” and, with 6 singers, harpsichord and theorbo, his  exciting five-part madrigals with continuo from 1609.