Romina Lischka
Biography
Romina Lischka is a gamba soloist, and ensemble leader. She studied at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis in Basel and the Royal Conservatory in Brussels before founding the Hathor Consort in 2012. She directed the ensemble on Barbara Strozzi: A Portrait in Five Acts, released on the CPO label in 2026. Born in Vienna in 1982, she first took up the guitar at seven before turning her attention to the viola da gamba at 113. Her early gamba studies in Vienna were with Jorge Daniel Valencia, supplemented by masterclasses with Wieland Kuijken and Jordi Savall. At the same time, she continued studying guitar with Walter Würdinger at the University of Music in Vienna from 1999 to 2002, winning Austria's "Prima la Musica" competition in 2000. In 2002, she moved to Basel to study viola da gamba with Paolo Pandolfo at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis. Her studies included participation in the Académie Européenne d'Ambronay under Christophe Rousset in 2004, and she completed her soloist diploma with distinction in 2006. She then continued with Philippe Pierlot at the Royal Conservatory in Brussels, earning a master's degree with distinction in 2008. Her musical interests extended beyond European early music. While studying the viola da gamba, she developed a parallel interest in dhrupad, the classical vocal tradition of North India. She completed a bachelor's degree in the subject through the World Music department of the Rotterdam Conservatory in 2010 and continued her studies in Delhi and Pune with Ustad Fariduddin Dagar and Uday Bhawalkar. From 2008 onward, she established herself as a concert performer, working with ensembles including Collegium Vocale Gent under Philippe Herreweghe, the Ricercar Consort under Philippe Pierlot, and Vlaamse Opera. In 2012, she founded the Hathor Consort, an ensemble named after the Egyptian goddess, that explores Renaissance and Baroque repertoire alongside contemporary and world-music influences. That same year, she participated in the world premiere of George Benjamin's opera Written on Skin. Her interest in connecting musical traditions also led her to co-found Imago Mundi with lutenist Sofie Vanden Eynde. The initiative was created to explore connections between Eastern and Western musical cultures, and its first recording, Divine Madness, was released in 2013. Her subsequent recordings have appeared on labels including Ricercar, Christophorus, and Fuga Libera. In 2018, she received the KLARA Award for Soloist of the Year, and during the 2019-20 season she was named Portrayed Artist by Brussels's Bozar arts center. Lischka's concert work has taken her to venues and festivals including the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Festival de la Roque d'Anthéron, and the Festival d'Aix-en-Provence. ~ Prince Iwundu