A lutenist by training, Wolfgang Katschner founded the lautten compagney BERLIN in 1984 together with Hans-Werner Apel, which is the centrepiece of his diverse musical activities in the field of early music. As artistic director, Katschner designs concert programmes in which the ensemble creatively explores the integration of the historical repertoire, for example in the encounter between text and music or different epochs. On CDs, he and his ensemble present themselves as border crossers and connectors between early and modern music. For some years now, Katschner has also been increasingly appearing as a guest conductor and guest professor. He has been responsible for opera productions in Schwetzingen, Bonn, and Nuremberg, among other places, and has taught in Berlin, Mainz, and Weimar. With him as director, the lautten compagney BERLIN is now one of the leading German baroque ensembles.