musicontact
EGBERT ZINNER
Kirchenallee 27 - 20099 Hamburg – phone 49.40.28052227 – fax 49.40.28052228
e-mail: service@musicontact.de – www.musicontact.de
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CARL PHILIPP EMANUEL BACH CHAMBER ORCHESTRA
The chamber orchestra was formed in 1969 in Berlin and, under the direction of renowned
conductors, soon gained national and international recognition. Virtuosity and a specific
understanding of the music, which was to become the basis of its work, were the keys to
its success.
On the basis of a critical understanding of early scores and taking note of new
musicological findings, the orchestra performs works on modern instruments, its
interpretations being "a demonstration in support of the compatibility of historical
performance practice and dramatic vitality" (Die Welt).
Particularly in the first years of its existence, the chamber orchestra earned merit for its
promotion of contemporary music, which was central to its artistic output: world premieres
were a regular part of its concert programming. From 1980, when Hartmut Haenchen took
over the artistic directorship, and with Peter Schreier as regular guest conductor since
1986, the orchestra concentrated on the early classical repertoire, whilst keeping a wide
variety of works in its programmes. In 1984 the chamber orchestra took on the name of
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach – the son of Johann Sebastian Bach who for years was active
in Berlin and Potsdam.
Again and again, critics emphasize the vivid drama, which exists in the Chamber
Orchestra’s interpretations without subjective expressive affectation, stressing that the
intentions of the music, which mostly dates back several hundred years, are followed with
clear contours and with attention to detail. "The result is convincing not least by its
naturalness", Fono Forum writes, and goes on to emphasize the "impressively
transparent, fresh and agile way of music-making" with an original-sized orchestra on
modern instruments.
Numerous radio and television recordings provide a record of the orchestra’s impressive
development. The majority of the more than 50 records and CDs made by the orchestra
for Berlin Classics, Capriccio, Deutsche Grammophon, SONY Classical and Philips
received much sought-after awards (Deutscher Schallplattenpreis, Preis der deutschen
Schallplattenkritik, Gramophone Award Nomination), many for recordings of works by Carl
Philipp Emanuel Bach. The recording of Gluck’s "Orfeo ed Euridice" was called "the most
beautiful opera recording of the year" (ZDF) and "simply a sensation" (Opernwelt). In 2006
EuroArts published a DVD with works of Mozart.
Important soloist like Anne-Sophie Mutter, Frank Peter Zimmermann, Isabelle van Keulen,
Baiba Skride, Anthony & Joseph Paratore, Stefan Vladar, Evgeni Koroliov, Emmanuel
Pahud, Jan Vogler, Jens Peter Maintz, Matthias Eisenberg and Andreas Schmidt played
with the orchestra. Further concerts and productions were realized with Peter Schreier,
Swjatoslav Richter, Patrick Gallois, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Jochen Kowalski und
Christiane Oelze.
Concert tours have taken the orchestra to Japan and to Europe’s most important musical
centres, including the Salzburg Festival, the Santander Festival, the Schwetzingen
Festival, the Ludwigsburg Schloss Festival, the Händel Festival in Halle, the Mozart
Festival in Würzburg, the Dresden Music Festival, the Berlin Festival and in 2008 during a
Netherlands-Tour to Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw. In 2009 the orchestra performed at the
Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival and the Rheingau Musik Festival.
season 2012/13
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