“Urbanetz is a fine gambist with a rich, warm tone – a real treasure.”
(Craig Zechner in Goldberg 23)

Full biography

Viennese gambist Christoph Urbanetz appears internationally as a soloist and chamber musician. As one of the few viol players to appear regularly as a soloist with orchestra, he is particularly devoted to the viola da gamba concertos of Johann Gottlieb Graun. He has collaborated with artists such as Giovanni Antonini, Cecilia Bartoli, Sir Simon Rattle, Andrea Marcon, René Jacobs, Stefan Gottfried and Nikolaus Harnoncourt, and has performed in major concert halls and at renowned festivals across Europe, including the Vienna Konzerthaus, the Musikverein Wien, Tonhalle Zürich, the Accademia di Santa Cecilia in Rome, as well as the Salzburg Festival, Resonanzen Vienna, Innsbruck Festival of Early Music and Utrecht Early Music Festival. Numerous CD and radio productions reflect the breadth of his artistic work, including the album The Forqueray Family.

Alongside his performing career, Urbanetz is also distinguished by his research. He earned his doctorate at the Mozarteum University Salzburg with a dissertation on performance instructions in sources of Marin Marais; together with Vittorio Ghielmi, he co-editedDecoding Marin Marais, a publication that opens up new perspectives on the aesthetics of French Baroque music. He teaches viola da gamba at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna, the Anton Bruckner Private University Linz, at the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz, and at the Academy of Music in Kraków. His studies took him to the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis with Paolo Pandolfo, to the Mozarteum Salzburg with Vittorio Ghielmi, and to Paris for further studies with Christophe Coin; he graduated with highest distinction (“summa cum laude”). He is a prize winner of international competitions including Köthen, Seville, St. Florian and Melk. In 2026, his solo albums Fantasia – Reason & Fire, featuring the twelve fantasias by Georg Philipp Telemann, and Sympathia – The Thousand Voices of the Viola da Gamba will be released.