Alexis Kossenko is a conductor/director and flute player mastering his instrument in all its historic forms from the ‘modern’ flute to the baroque and renaissance flutes, as well as the recorder. His orchestra experience is particularly extensive and include regular collaborations with La Chambre Philharmonique, Le Concert d’Astrée, Stradivaria, Ensemble Matheus, Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique, Barokk Solistene. His intense career on both the modern and baroque flutes was rapidly established following his diplomas in Paris with Alain Marion and Amsterdam with Marten Root. His concert schedule takes him to prestigious concert halls as soloist and chamber musician in major festivals all over Europe. In 1997 his acclaimed interpretation of concertos by Quantz and Vivaldi with EUBO conducted by Ton Koopman and Roy Goodman marked the beginning of his solo career. Since then, he has been invited by numerous European ensembles as concerto soloist. He works as a duet with pianist Rémy Cardinale, and together with baritone Alain Buet and cellist Emmanuel Balssa they have established l’Armée des Romantiques dedicated to French 19th century music. With his own orchestra Les Ambassadeurs he undertakes a rediscovery of forgotten repertoire – music from the Dresden’s Golden Age. He is also a guest conductor of B’Rock (Belgium), Holland Baroque Society (Holland), European Union Baroque Orchestra, Le Concert d’Astrée (France) and especially Arte dei Suonatori (Poland) – together they performed in numerous highly acclaimed tours. Their complete recording of CPE Bach flute concertos (Alpha) is considered to be a reference. Other major CD releases include Rameau Concerts, Vivaldi, Touchemoulin and Hoffman flute concertos and Telemann overtures and concertos.

Born in Milan, Giovanni Antonini studied at the Civica Scuola di Musica and at the Centre de Musique Ancienne in Geneva. He is a founding member of the ensemble Il Giardino Armonico, which he has led since 1989 and with whom he has given concerts worldwide.

He works with artists such as Cecilia Bartoli, Giuliano Carmignola, Isabelle Faust, Sol Gabetta, Patricia Kopatchinskaja, Katia e Marielle Labèque, Viktoria Mullova and Giovanni Sollima.

Giovanni is Principal Guest Conductor of Kammerorchester Basel and Mozarteum Orchester Salzburg and regularly guest conducts orchestras such as the Berliner Philharmoniker, Concertgebouworkest Amsterdam, London Symphony, Chicago Symphony, Tonhalle Orchester Zurich. He has conducted numerous opera productions at Teatro alla Scala, Theater an der Wien, Salzburg Festival and Opernhaus Zurich.

He has recorded for Teldec, Decca, Sony BMG, Naïve, Harmonia Mundi and Alpha Classics.

Giovanni is Artistic Director of the Wratislavia Cantans Festival (www.wratislaviacantans.pl) and the Haydn2032 project, created to perform and record the entire symphonies of Franz Joseph Haydn by the 300th anniversary of his birth.