Duo GlossArte

Lea Suter (harpsichord and organ) · Juan González Martínez (historical trombones and whistle)

Sound philosophy and repertoire

Organ or harpsichord and trombone: a fascinating combination of sounds… and, on today’s concert scene, all too rare. It was precisely this inspiration that led harpsichordist and organist Lea Suter and trombonist and whistle player Juan González Martínez to found the Duo GlossArte in 2019. Since then, they have devoted themselves passionately to the repertoire for historical trombones and keyboard instruments — from the Baroque to the Romantic period — and bring this unique sonic universe to life for their audiences.

Concerts, CDs and awards

The public’s response and the venues where the duo has already performed demonstrate the strength of this concept: concerts, including at Die Glocke and the Sendesaal Bremen, as well as performances on organs of great historical significance – for example in Leipzig, Lüneburg and Schwyz – have been received with enthusiasm.Another milestone was the duo’s first CD: featuring previously unreleased recordings of Romantic repertoire performed on original instruments preserved from that era, the album was nominated in 2022 for the German Record Critics’ Award (Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik).Grants and awards also highlight GlossArte’s artistic development: in 2022, the duo received state funding from the Neustart Kultur programme as an emerging ensemble; at the same time, both musicians were awarded grants from the Deutsche-Orchester-Stiftung and the PE-Förderung. In 2025, their original programme concept and outstanding performance earned them the Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber Prize at the international competition of the same name in St. Florian (Austria). In 2026, the ensemble released its second CD: under the title ‘Mediterranean Melodies’, GlossArte brings to life repertoire from the 16th and 17th centuries on various silver and brass trombones (Renaissance and Baroque sackbuts) In June 2026, the album was awarded the Melómano de Oro.

Collaborations and the art of the glossa

Particularly in the repertoire of the early Classical period, Lea Suter and Juan González Martínez regularly collaborate with larger ensembles, such as the Göttinger Barockorchester and the Elbipolis Barockorchester, with whom they have performed solo concertos by, amongst others, C. P. E. Bach, Leopold Mozart, Albrechtsberger and Wagenseil.For GlossArte, a particular appeal lies in the art of ornamentation: the variation and embellishment of individual notes or entire melodic lines, always in keeping with the practices of the relevant period, as recorded in the treatises of musicians and theorists of the time. This preference also explains the ensemble’s name: it combines the Spanish word for ‘ornaments’, ‘glosas’, with the Italian word for ‘art’, ‘arte’. With GlossArte, the name says it all.