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Argentine conductor, keyboard soloist, and continuo player
Leonardo García Alarcón was a musical prodigy and began giving piano concerts at the age of six. At 15, he began studying basso continuo techniques as a member of the ensemble Toccata Instrumentale in La Plata. He studied conducting at the National University of La Plata, and continued studies at the Catholic University of Buenos Aires, the Centre de Musique Anciennes de Genève, and Geneva Conservatory. He specializes in music of the Baroque era, particularly Baroque opera, choral music, and vocal music. He has served as a continuo player in the ensemble
Elyma and is an assistant to its director
Gabriel Garrido. He founded the ensemble
Cappella Mediterranea in Geneva in 1999 and remains its artistic director. The group focuses on the genres of madrigal, polyphonic motet, and opera from southern Europe in the early 17th century. He is also co-director of the Belgian early music ensemble
Clematis, and in 2010 began directing
Choeur de Chambre de Namur.
García Alarcón is active in musicological research, with special interest in the music of 17th century Latin America and the 17th century Portuguese Court. His discoveries include several operas by David Perez and manuscripts by Niccolò Piccinni. His many recordings include unfamiliar or newly discovered works by composers such as Matheo Romero, Giovanni Giorgi, and Michelangelo Falvetti, as well as well-known pieces like
Purcell's Dido and Aeneas and
Handel's Judas Maccabaeus.