Magdalena Kožená

Czech mezzo-soprano. Married to Simon Rattle. Born May 26, 1973 in Brno (former Czechoslovakia). Kožená’s recordings include Bach arias, Handel’s Roman Motets and Italian Cantatas and “Messiah” with Marc Minkowski for DG/Archiv, and her first solo recital disc (Dvořák, Janáček and Martinů with Graham Johnson - Gramophone Solo Vocal Award, 2001) for Deutsche Grammophon, with whom she has signed an exclusive contract. Her most recent discs are recitals of arias of Mozart, Gluck and Mysliveček (with the Prague Philharmonia and Michel Swierczewski), of French arias with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra and Minkowski, Gluck’s “Paride ed Elena” under Paul McCreesh, a recital disc with Malcolm Martineau and an acclaimed disc of cantatas by members of the Bach family (“Lamento”) with Musica Antiqua Koeln and Reinhard Goebel. She is the 2004 Gramophone Awards Artist of the Year. Magdalena Kožená is already established as a major concert and recital artist. Her recitals have taken her to London, the Schubertiade Schwazenberg, Brussels, Paris, Hamburg, Amsterdam, Munich, Prague, Tokyo, Yokohama and Sapporo. Last season she appeared in recital at Carnegie Hall, in San Francisco and in London, Brussels, Lisbon, Vienna, Copenhagen, Amsterdam, Hamburg and Prague. In 1996-97 she was a member of the Vienna Volksoper.