Gruppo Montebello

Gruppo Montebello was the name for many of Henk Guittart’s educational ensemble projects from 1991 until 2011. (The Italian “montebello” translates as “beautiful mountain” or in German: Schoenberg.)

From 2011 the name Gruppo Montebello is exclusively used for the hand-picked professional ensembles with which conductor Henk Guittart realizes his project aiming at performing and recording the complete chamber orchestra arrangements of orchestral works which were made during the times of the Verein für musikalische Privataufführungen (Society for private musical performances), which was active in Vienna and Prague between 1918 and 1924.

Guittart revises and -if desired or necessary- re-arranges all existing arrangements from the archives of the Society and adds to that list a number of more recent similar arrangements that were mainly done for his former group, the Schoenberg Ensemble. Also he recently arranged works by Mahler (Das Lied von der Erde) and Anton Webern (Passacaglia op.1).

From 2015 on Gruppo Montebello resides at the Orlando Festival, The Netherlands, where the continuation of this “all-star band” blossoms!