The Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century is one of the most prominent early music orchestras in the world. The musicians play internationally in leading (chamber) music ensembles and meet several times a year for performances of iconic and lesser-known repertoire. In the early 1980s, the orchestra achieved world fame by performing grand symphonic work on original instruments and in a historically informed manner. A revolution that never really stopped.
But the uniqueness of the orchestra is not only in the sound or the way of playing. Ever since it was founded by Frans Brüggen more than forty years ago, musicians have never taken a score for granted. The approach is critical, curious, investigative and progressive. Core values from the Enlightenment that all orchestra members hold in high esteem. That is why every performance is a new challenge and the iconic repertoire remains alive and kicking.
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PRESS
„Standing ovation at the end!“
Rhein-Neckar-Zeitung, 8 April 2024
„The other starry performance of the evening came from the Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century.“
Bachtrack, 16th October 2019
SELECTION OF PROJECTS 2027/28
Summer 2028 upon request
BY HER ABSENCE
Elisabeth Hetherington, soprano // Benjamin Perry Wenzelberg, conductor // Peter Leung, staging
The Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century presents a tribute to the overlooked composer Marianna Martines. Together with soprano Elisabeth Hetherington (winner of the 2024 Dutch Music Prize) and stage director Peter Leung, the orchestra tells the
story of this remarkable and multi-talented woman from Vienna.
More than 200 years after her death, the Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century and Elisabeth Hetherington bring Martines back to life on stage. At the heart of the programme are two of her finest vocal works, La tempesta and Berenice, ah che fai.
They are interwoven with music by her contemporary Joseph Haydn and a newly commissioned work by Kate Moore.
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PAST CONCERTS – A SELECTION
5 April 2024 Heidelberger Frühling
BEETHOVEN
Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century / Alena Baeva, violin
L. v. Beethoven: Violin concerto in D major op. 61
L. v. Beethoven: Symphony no. 2 in D major op. 36
Alena Baeva © studio visuell
25 MAY 2022 Elbphilharmonie Hamburg
THE SEASONS
Nicolas Altstaedt, Dirigent / Christina Landhamer (Hanne) / Ian Bostridge (Lukas) / Florian Boesch (Simon) / Capella Amsterdam / Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century
J. Haydn: The Seasons Hob. XXI:3
“…and when ‘Winter’ came to an end with the powerful double fugue, one would have gladly wanted to start again right away with ‘Spring.’”
Hamburger Abendblatt, 26 May 2022
