Author: Andrea Kerner

In September, the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra teams up once again with the brilliant vocal ensemble Vox Luminis for a performance of their acclaimed interpretation of Bach’s Mass in B minor at St. James’s, Spanish Place in London. The concert is part of the Wigmore Hall’s concert series. “Pure magic”, declared the Stuttgarter Zeitung after their performance at the Beethovenfest Bonn in September 2024.

18 September 2025, St. James’s, Spanish Place, London
MASS IN B MINOR
Erika Tandiono, soprano / Sophia Faltas, soprano / Victoria Cassano, mezzo-soprano / William Shelton, countertenor / Raphael Höhn, tenor / Sebastian Myrus, bass / Felix Schwandtke, bass / Lionel Meunier, bass & musical leader  / Vox Luminis / Freiburg Baroque Orchestra
J. S. Bach: Mass in B minor BWV 232

Benedicte Maurseth and Kristine Tjøgersen are part of a new generation of Norwegian composers whose work deeply engages with ecology, place, and our perception of the natural world. Their joint composition Elja is rooted in the landscape of Hardangervidda, Europe’s largest mountain plateau. Among the featured “performers”: the rock ptarmigan, snowy owl, wolverine, Eurasian whimbrel, and Lapland longspur. The tireless Kronos Quartet performs on newly developed and adapted traditional instruments such as the Hardanger fiddle, Hardanger viola, and Hardanger cello. Benedicte Maurseth herself appears as soloist on the Hardanger fiddle.

Following its European premiere in Oslo, the work will be performed again at Festival Musica in Strasbourg. There, the quartet will present an additional program specially conceived to confront the pressing issues of our time.

18 September 2025, Ultima Festival, Oslo / 20 September 2025, Festival Musica, Strasbourg
ELJA
David Harrington, violin / Gabriela Díaz, violin / Ayane Kozasa, viola / Paul Wiancko, cello / Benedicte Maurseth, Hardanger fiddle
B. Maurseth & K. Tjøgersen: Elja

21 September 2025, Festival Musica, Straßburg
A WORLD WE LIVE IN
David Harrington, violin / Gabriela Díaz, violin / Ayane Kozasa, viola / Paul Wiancko, cello
N. Lizée: Death to Kosmische / N. Young Ohio (arr. by Paul Wiancko) / M. Kouyoumdjian: Bombs of Beirut / N. Simone: For all we know / Consumation (arr. Jacob Garchik) / T. Riley: One Earth One People One Love / H. Guõnadóttir: Fólk fær andlit / S. Reich: Different Trains

Major political upheavals shaped European history and form the backdrop – or sometimes the very impulse – for works that reflect and transcend their time. Mozart and Beethoven witnessed monarchy, revolution, and the beginnings of European democratization. Il Giardino Armonico and the NFM Choir, under the direction of Giovanni Antonini, trace this historical arc through music.

11 September 2025, De Singel, Antwerpen
CROWN & REVOLUTION
Giovanni Antonini, conductor / Il Giardino Armonico / NFM Choir
W. A. Mozart: Overture to Idomeneo, K. 366 / Kyrie in D minor “Munich Kyrie”, K. 342 / Mass in C major “Coronation Mass”, K. 317 / L. v. Beethoven: Symphony No. 3 in E-flat major, Op. 55 “Eroica”

With great momentum, we and our orchestras and ensembles are launching into the 2025/26 season – from Ravello to Oslo, from Bach to Bernstein.

• Phantasm Viol Consort
• Building Bridges Pianists
• Kent Nagano & Dresdner Philharmonie
• Vox Luminis
• Freiburg Baroque Orchestra
• Chamber Orchestra of Europe
• Compagnia di Punto
• Il Giardino Armonico
• Sarah Willis & Mozart y Mambo
• Kronos Quartet
• Orchestra of the Royal Opera House
• Finnish Baroque Orchestra
  

The Orchestra of the 18th Century will open this year’s edition of Festivo with a Mozart and Haydn program. The concert will be conducted by concertmaster Alexander Janiczek and take place in the atrium of Schattdecor—a spectacular new venue of the festival. The soloist is Rachel Podger, “the unsurpassed British glory of the baroque violin,” as The Times describes her.

25 July 2025, Festivo, Aschau
OPENING CONCERT
R. Podger, violin / A. Janiczek, concert master & musical leader
Works by W.-A. Mozart & J. Haydn

After a universally acclaimed concert in 2024, the Chamber Orchestra of Europe has once again been invited to the Epidaurus Festival this year. Under the baton of Constantinos Carydis, the orchestra will perform works by Liszt, Purcell, and Berlioz, as well as the world premiere of O Lightless Light! – Ode to Oedipus, a new composition by Greek composer Periklis Koukos.

10 July 2025, Epidaurus Festival – Odeon of Herodes Atticus, Athen
O LIGHTLESS LIGHT! – ODE TO OEDIPUS
Francesco Piemontesi, piano / Sofia Tamvakopoulou, piano / Tassis Christoyannis, baritone / Constantinos Carydis, conductor
Works by P. Koukos, F. Listz, H. Purcell, H. Berlioz

We are delighted to have deepened our collaboration with one of Denmark’s finest ensembles, Concerto Copenhagen, as of early June 2025. Moving forward, we will be supporting the orchestra with strategic advice and international tour planning. It is a pleasure and an honor to contribute to the exciting journey of Concerto Copenhagen, and we warmly welcome this wonderfully versatile ensemble!

Concerto Copenhagen (CoCo) combines artistic authenticity and innovation through original and uncompromising interpretations that breathe new life into music, making it relevant for a modern audience. Since 1999, the collaboration between CoCo and Lars Ulrik Mortensen has led to an exciting artistic and musical journey, highly praised by audiences and critics worldwide. With a unique repertoire that blends well-known European music with lesser-known works of Scandinavian origin, as well as new compositions, CoCo celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2021.

Alessandro Scarlatti’s oratorio La Santissima Annunziata focuses on the scene of the Annunciation from the Gospel of Luke. His composition left a lasting impression on Handel, who attended a performance in 1708. Europa Galante and Fabio Biondi, who rediscovered the work in 2017, will now present it at this year’s Handel Festival in Halle.

13 June 2025, Händel Festspiele Halle
LA SANTISSIMI ANNUNZIATA
Roberta Invernizzi, Soprano / Andreina Drago, mezzo soprano / Valentina Molinari, soprano / Marina de Liso, mezzo soprano / Jorge Navarro Colorado, tenor / Europa Galante / Fabio Biondi, conductor
A. Scarlatti: La Santissima Annunziata