The Bach Medal of the city of Leipzig goes to the Belgian oboist Marcel Ponseele this year. He has raised the bar for the sound and playing style of the baroque oboe to a new standard. The award will be presented during the Leipzig Bach Festival 2025 in mid-June following a concert by the artist with the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra.
Marcel Ponseele was born in Kortrijk, Belgium, in 1957. He studied oboe and chamber music at the conservatories of Bruges, Ghent and Brussels. In 1981, Ponseele was a prizewinner in the Musica Antiqua competition in Bruges. Since then, he has played in numerous baroque orchestras, including La Petite Bande, The Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra, La Chapelle Royale and Collegium Vocale Gent. He was also one of the co-founders of the Orchestre des Champs-Elysées together with the conductor Philippe Herreweghe and leads the wind ensemble Harmonie des Champs-Elysées. In 1988, Marcel Ponseele, together with Jan De Winne and Shalev Ad-El, founded the ensemble Il Gardellino, of which he is the artistic director. With Il Gardellino, he has made numerous recordings and given concerts worldwide. Ponseele enjoys an international reputation as a baroque specialist. He has performed and recorded almost everything that J. S. Bach, Antonio Vivaldi, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and others ever wrote for the oboe. He also enjoys chamber music and has recorded numerous CDs in this field. Together with his brother Francis, Marcel Ponseele also makes copies of 18th-century oboes.
The Bach Medal of the City of Leipzig honours individuals who have made a special contribution to the work of Johann Sebastian Bach. Since 2003, the city of Leipzig has awarded the medal, so far exclusively to musicians and ensembles.
You must be logged in to be able to post comments.
Sign in