Matthias Maute is the artistic director of Ensemble Caprice (Montreal), tours as a conductor, recorder and flute player and is in demand as a composer and teacher. He loves playing soccer with his son.

 1. What are we interrupting (i.e. what music-related activity are we taking you away from to write this)?

Right now (Friday, May 24) I’m preparing the final score for the opera Motezuma that Ensemble Caprice is premiering on June 21 in Montreal and that I co-wrote with…Antonio Vivaldi (most of his music for this opera is lost)!

 2. What, if anything, are you most looking forward to as an audience member between now and September 7?

“Baroque Goes Wild,” a multimedia event at the Montreal Baroque Festival on June 22 that will create a meeting place for early music and the digital world!

 3. How about as a music maker/player?

The opera project Motezuma with Ensemble Caprice will be the highlight. It has evolved into a new genre of baroque opera where the recitatives are replaced by a narration that is accompanied by freshly composed contemporary music. Can’t wait!

 4. What are you already preparing for musically beyond the summer? And (how) do your summer plans tie in with these longer term plans?

With Ensemble Caprice we will start the first ever cycle of Beethoven symphonies on period instruments in Montreal this fall. So, I will delve into a well-known world but look at it from a different angle. Since I was young I’ve always wanted to discover what can be found on the hidden side of the moon…