AKADEMIE  FÜR ALTE MUSIK BERLIN

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“The ensemble is superb—it’s as much fun to watch these performers listen to one another as it is to hear them play.”
— The Boston Globe

AKAMUS RETURNS !!
DECEMBER 2-8, 2024 ONLY

The Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin can be counted on to bring together beloved works and wonderful discoveries, concertos as well as ensemble works, in a way that entrances audiences and critics alike.

Program options: ‘Pure Baroque’ or ‘Discover Telemann’

Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin

Xenia Löffler, Oboe
Georg Kallweit, Solo Violin & Concertmaster

‘Pure Baroque’

Johann Bernhard Bach: Orchestral Suite No. 1 in G minor for Solo Violin, Strings, and Basso continuo
Johann Sebastian Bach: Concerto for Oboe, Strings, and Basso continuo in G minor | BWV 1056R
Interval
Antonio Vivaldi: Violin Concerto in D minor from “La Stravaganza” | Op.4,8 RV 249
Georg Philipp Telemann: Overture-Suite “Burlesque de Quixotte” for Strings and Basso continuo | TWV 55:G10
Johann Sebastian Bach: Concerto for Oboe and Violin, Strings, and Basso continuo in C minor | BWV 1060R

About this program:
The Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin plays hauntingly beautiful concertos of the Baroque era. Oboist Xenia Löffler and concertmaster Georg Kallweit, two outstanding soloists of the orchestra, guarantee a fresh take on masterworks by Bach, Vivaldi and others.

Bach's Solo Concerto for Oboe and the famous Double Concerto for Violin and Oboe continue to fascinate today for their sheer beauty and the amount of inventiveness in every aspect of his music. The whole Bach dynasty was unusually rich in musical talent and there is no question why Johann Sebastian highly appreciated the music of his cousin Johann Bernhard: His elegant Orchestral Suite in G minor still captivates listeners with its appealing French taste. And there are further musical gems to discover: Vivaldi‘s Violin Concerto in D minor is a truly adventurous work full of exuberant ideas, whereas Telemann’s Overture “Burlesque des Quixotte” evokes the story of the melancholic knight and his down-to-earth companion Sancho Panza with witty, theatrical music.

‘Discover Telemann’

 Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767):

Ouverture-Suite for Strings and Basso continuo in A major, TWV 55:A1 

 Concerto for Oboe, Strings and Basso continuo in D major, TWV 51:D5

“Concerto Polon” in G major for Strings and Basso continuo, TWV 43:G7       

Concerto for Oboe, Strings and Basso continuo in D minor, TWV 51:d2 

 - Interval -

 Ouverture-Suite for Strings and Basso continuo in F-sharp minor, TWV 55:fis1  

 Concerto for Strings and Basso continuo in G major, TWV 43:G5  

 Concerto for Oboe, Strings and Basso continuo in C minor, TWV 51:c1  

About this program: Let yourself be surprised by the beauty of Telemann’s music united in this program! It offers a fascinating tribute to Georg Philipp Telemann, one of Europe’s greatest composers. The ”jack-of-all-trades” of the Baroque was more famous during his life than Johann Sebastian Bach.  

Xenia Löffler, the ensemble's internationally sought-after solo oboist, presents a selection of Telemann’s finest concertos for ‘her’ instrument - highly inventive and imaginative works that Telemann wrote during his time as municipal music director in Frankfurt.  But there’s more to discover: Telemann’s Ouvertures-Suites are typical for the playful elegance with which the composer fused Italian and French stylistic elements. Telemann was also interested in the music of Eastern Europe. His most charming  “Concerto Polon” was inspired by the music that Telemann heard in the taverns during his travels through Poland. The rich variety of Telemann’s style turns the program into a fascinating portrait of one of the ensemble’s most admired composers.

Please consult for combinations of the two programs/Programs subject to change

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In May of 2005, the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin (AKAMUS) made their US debut tour to critical acclaim and to sold‐out houses at many major venues. They returned to the US in 2008, 2011, 2014, 2017, and 2020, all in conjunction with new Pentatone or Harmonia Mundi CD releases.  Past tours included repeat visits to Carnegie Hall, Berkeley, Boston, Ann Arbor, Toronto, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Washington DC and introduced the group to audiences stretching from Vancouver to New Orleans. Following a tour of Canada in Fall 2019, February 2020 brought the ensemble to Purdue Convocations, Duke University, Eastern Carolina University, Kansas City Friends of Chamber Music and UC Berkeley's Cal Performances. 2024 sees special appearances in New York and Montreal, in addition to global touring.

AKAMUS was founded in 1982 in Berlin. Since its beginnings, it has become one of the world‘s leading chamber orchestras on period instruments and can look back on an unprecedented history of success. Whether in New York or Tokyo, London or Buenos Aires, AKAMUS is a regular and much sought-after guest on the most important European and international concert stages.

AKAMUS performs under the changing direction of its three concertmasters -- Bernhard Forck, Georg Kallweit and Mayumi Hirasaki -- as well as selected conductors. The ensemble has a particularly close and long-standing artistic partnership with René Jacobs. In addition, Emmanuelle Haim, Bernard Labadie, Paul Agnew, Diego Fasolis, Fabio Biondi, Rinaldo Alessandrini and Christophe Rousset have recently conducted the orchestra.

The ensemble's recordings, which now number around one hundred, have won all the major recording awards, including the Grammy Award, Diapason d'Or, Gramophone Award, Choc de l'année, and the Annual Prize of the German Record Critics. In 2006 the orchestra received the Telemann Prize of the City of Magdeburg, and in 2014 the Bach Medal of the City of Leipzig.

Recent recordings include an album dedicated to „Bach’s Roots“ with Swiss vocal ensemble Voces Suaves and an all-Vivaldi album with countertenor Carlo Vistoli („Sacro Furore“). One of AKAMUS‘s latest, released in March 2024 on Harmonia Mundi, is “a crackling survey of symphonies from…C.P.E. Bach [and] sounds as fresh as ever” (NPR Music).

Read the rave review from their 2020 Cal Performances appearance HERE.

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