Johann Jacob Froberger numbers among the most well-known and yet most enigmatic musicians of the seventeenth century. He was born in Stuttgart in 1616 and died in 1667 in the service of the widowed Duchess Sybilla from the Mömpelgard collateral line of the House of Württemberg. His oeuvre displays all the important forms, compositional concepts, and expressive ideals of his epoch. He exerts a special fascination today, above all since the concept of “Europe” is once again being put to the test. There are just as many unifying factors here as there are local and national particularities, things that Froberger was able to discover on his many journeys and through his network of contacts. His works were not limited to a specific – from today’s view – authentic instrument: he made use of all the keyboard instruments common at that time. Magdalena Hasibeder plays Vienna’s oldest playable organ, built in 1642/43 by Johann Wöckherl and erected in the choir of the Franziskanerkirche. The harpsichord is a French two-manual instrument built ca. 1680 and attributed to Claude Labréche.
Magdalena Hasibeder was born in Linz, Austria, where she received her musical training at the Music High School and at the Anton Bruckner Private University for Music, Drama, and Dance. Further studies in organ, harpsichord, early music, and instrumental pedagogy led her to the Vienna University of Music and the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis. Among her teachers were Wolfgang Glüxam, Andrea Marcon, Michael Radulescu, Augusta Campagne, and Rudolf Lutz. Since 1997 Magdalena Hasibeder has appeared in organ and harpsichord concerts at festivals and in concert series throughout Europe. From the very beginning of her career, she has been greatly involved in ensemble activity. As a sought-after continuo player and soloist, she has performed in numerous renowned ensembles, including La Cetra Barockorchester, the Venice Baroque Orchestra, the Bruckner Orchester Linz, Il Concerto Viennese, the Bach Consort Wien, and Concerto Stella Matutina. She was a prizewinner at several international organ competitions, including the Paul Hofhaimer Competition Innsbruck, the Organ Competition in Herford, Germany, and the Georg Muffat Competition in Schlägl, Austria.
