Lugano born lute-player Luca Pianca is regarded as one of the finest interpreters of baroque music on original instruments. He studied with Nikolaus Harnoncourt at the Mozarteum in Salzburg. He has performed regularly with Concentus Musicus Wien since 1982. He was one of the musicians which founded the Il Giardino Armonico ensemble in 1985. Luca Pianca appears regularly with singers including Cecilia Bartoli, Eva Mei, Christoph Prégardien and Georg Nigl and in duet with the gamba-player Vittorio Ghielmi, with whom he has made many recordings.
His discography includes – in addition to the many Il Giardino Armonico recordings in which he has taken part – a complete recording of Johann Sebastian Bach and Antonio Vivaldi’s lute music. Concert work has taken Luca Pianca to renowned concert halls all over the world, including the Carnegie Hall in New York, the Berlin Philharmonie and the Konzerthaus and Musikverein in Vienna. He has also been engaged by Zurich Opera, the Salzburg and Lucerne festivals and Theater an der Wien, appearing with orchestras including the Berlin Philharmonic under Sir Simon Rattle and with Sting. Luca Pianca has been a regular guest at the Konzerthaus in Vienna since making his debut there in 1996 as a member of the Il Giardino Armonico ensemble.