A virtuoso on the oud, Tunisian composer Anouar Brahem is a major force in reinventing the instrument, bringing into synergy with various Western music, particularly jazz, and collaborating with the greatest improvisers of our time.
Keywords: Early Music
| Anouar Brahem | Oud |
| Django Bates | Piano |
| Dave Holland | Doublebass |
| Anja Lechner | Cello |
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These events are similar in terms of concept, place, musicians or the program.
When Igor Levit takes his seat at the keyboard, one thing is for sure: you’ll hear the pieces on the programme as never before. The German-Russian pianist makes his very own mark, often as unexpected as it is brilliant, on every work he plays, whisking even veteran repertoire warhorses into the here and now. In this concert Levit is accompanied by the Berliner Barock Solisten in music by two composers who can be described without exaggeration as pinnacles of music history: Johann Sebastian Bach and his son Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach. The most famous of the Bach sons made a no less illustrious career for himself than his father, and was admired by fellow composers like Mozart, Beethoven and Haydn. In this cleverly thought-out programme, Levit and the Berlin ensemble create a father-son dialogue along entirely modern lines.
It takes some confidence to dedicate a sacred work personally to the Pope. But Claudio Monteverdi was keen to reach as large an audience as possible when he published his »Vespro della Beata Vergine« in 1610. With the work, he sought to express all the facets of his compositional prowess, and the »Vespers for the Blessed Virgin« remains one of the greatest works of sacred music to this day. In 13 movements, Monteverdi demonstrates his mastery and his ability to integrate all the contrasting stylistic influences of his time into one diverse whole. The six-strong Flemish instrumental ensemble Les Cornets Noirs specialises in the music of Monteverdi’s time. Together with the singers of the Delectus Cantionum ensemble, they present a historically informed and musically expressive performance of this legendary work.
What traces do wars leave on the music of the time? The Hathor Consort, a viol ensemble of to which harp, organ and cornett are added, joins forces with soprano Dorothee Mields to look for echoes of the Thirty Years’ War in the works of composers who witnessed this catastrophic period in European history. With his »Trostgedichten in Widerwertigkeit deß Kriegs«, the poet Martin Opitz wrote an influential treatise of edification in the midst of this fierce conflict that claimed the lives of around a third of the population. The composers of the age attempted to process the deep trauma of violence, hunger and utter defencelessness through their music. This programme brings together four musical witnesses of the time:Heinrich Schütz, Samuel Scheidt, Andreas Hammerschmidt and Heinrich Albert. The acclaimed Hathor Consort focuses mainly on Renaissance and Baroque music, but it regularly combines this with music from other cultures as well as with contemporary works. Dorothee Mields likewise focuses entirely on Early Music, and her clear and intimate soprano is regarded as one of today’s top voices in the field of historic performing practice.
Jakub Józef Orliński bridges the gap between the past and the present effortlessly: with a warm, radiant voice and rousing enthusiasm, the countertenor, who has already won the OPUS KLASSIK award three times, transports his audience to centuries long past. And yet he is not an artist who loses himself in the past – on the contrary. Orliński’s sparkling charm and his sympathetically sober view of things like success and career are as unpretentious as they are contemporary. In this ProArte concert, you can look forward to his excursion into the musically incredibly rich world of the Italian Baroque.
Who doesn’t know the Eurovision anthem with the opening bars of Marc-Antoine Charpentier’s »Te Deum«! The renowned Monteverdi Choir Hamburg, together with soloists and the lautten compagney Berlin under the direction of Antonius Adamske, presents the entire work in its original historical sound – with timpani and trumpets.
With a voice whose beauty, range and agility seem to know no bounds, Cecilia Bartoli is one of the undisputed world leaders in singing. She also has an almost magnetic stage presence and a charisma that not only thrills classical music fans. No wonder she enjoys a legendary reputation, especially on the opera stage. In addition to Bartoli’s stage career, the mezzo-soprano also devotes herself time and again to special projects. She brings one of these to the Elbphilharmonie for ProArte: Christoph Willibald Gluck’s grandiose opera »Orfeo ed Euridice« in a rarely performed later version. At her side: the Musiciens du Prince of the Opéra de Monte-Carlo under the direction of Gianluca Capuano and the outstanding choir Il Canto di Orfeo. A feast for the eyes and ears guaranteed!
The Monteverdi Choir and the English Baroque Soloists present »Israel in Egypt«, one of George Frideric Handel’s most famous oratorios. The key protagonist is not a solo part, but the choir that represents the long-suffering Israelites. Luckily, the Monteverdi Choir is one of the best in the world – and an emotionally moving and musically formidable concert evening is in store. Next to his ubiquitous »Messiah«, Handel’s 24 other oratorios don’t have it easy, although »Israel in Egypt« is relatively well known. Which is no wonder considering how Handel packaged the story of the enslaved Israelites’ exodus from ancient Egypt as a musical crime drama. Although originally conceived for the concert hall, the oratorio is so full of drama that it is also regularly performed on the operatic stage.
Thank goodness for Mendelssohn! If the 20-year-old Felix Mendelssohn had not brought Bach’s »St Matthew Passion« back to light in 1829, after it had lain forgotten in some archive since the first performance a century earlier, an incomparable masterpiece would be missing from the concert and church music repertoire. More than that, in fact: with his revival of the »St Matthew Passion«, the young composer kicked off a massive renaissance of Bach’s music that has lost none of its momentum to this day. One of the core works in this Bach revival is the »St Matthew Passion«, whose dramatic density and brilliant musical structure cast a spell over audiences 300 years ago, as they still do today. The Easter masterpiece is performed tonight at the Elbphilharmonie by a team of experienced Bach specialists: Philippe Herreweghe conducts the Collegium Vocale Gent together with a hand-picked line-up of soloists. A musical experience that will certainly stay with the audience long after the concert is over.
The British Guardian called the ensemble Les Musiciens du Louvre »one of the best orchestras in the world«. Founded in 1982 by the conductor and oboist Marc Minkowski, it is not the Louvre’s official orchestra – no such ensemble exists. But the reference to the world-famous Parisian museum already illustrates the musicians’ mission: to bring the art of earlier centuries to life at the highest level. Appropriately enough, their forthcoming guest appearance in Hamburg at Easter features a Handel oratorio about the Resurrection of Christ. Composer George Frideric Handel found himself in a double bind in 1708. Firstly, the Pope had imposed a complete ban on opera performances because he feared a series of earthquakes meant that the end of the world was imminent, and restricted sinful entertainment in favour of religious art. This was a problem for Handel, who was an opera man to the core, both artistically and financially. Secondly, he wanted to present a piece about the Resurrection punctually for the Easter weekend, but having Jesus Christ appear on stage in person was an even greater taboo than opera per se. Pragmatic as ever, Handel arrived at the following solution: in his original oratorio »La Resurrezione«, angels and the Devil, apostles and Mary Magdalene debate about the Crucifixion. And in the end, the music itself turned out quite operatic after all.
Known as the "Bohemian Bach," Baroque master Jan Dismas Zelenka made his career at the Dresden court. Conductor Václav Luks considers him Bach's equal. This concert presents Zelenka alongside works by Pisendel, Weber, and Koželuh. Czech early music specialist Luks frames the program with Zelenka and Leopold Koželuh, who succeeded Mozart at the Salzburg court. Koželuh's works are reminiscent of Beethoven and Schubert. Clarinetist Sharon Kam performs Weber's Clarinet Concerto No. 2.
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