“The third Brandenburg Concerto is a kind of demonstration. It is the only demonstration concerto of that quintessential Italian Baroque instrument – the violin. This may sound a little strange, but violas, celli and double basses are nothing but enlarged violins. This string writing – it uses up to nine parts – is so dense! I feel it radiates a southern fullness of sound, a truly Italian feel. The violin is no doubt a southern instrument, and in the last movement of this concerto you can hear the warm Adriatic breeze very clearly.” (Nikolaus Harnoncourt) Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos, named after their dedicatee the Margrave Christian Ludwig von Brandenburg, have been part of Nikolaus Harnoncourt’s permanent repertoire ever since he founded his Concentus musicus ensemble. The ensemble has recorded them and played them on their tours throughout the world. The impulse which led Harnoncourt to establish the Concentus musicus in 1953 was his dissatisfaction with the traditional way of interpreting early music. The uncommon and sometimes radically different style of the Concentus musicus, as well as its exclusive use of historical instruments, secured the ensemble its international reputation. Harnoncourt introduces the concerto with a moving and fascinating analysis of the piece. Interesting musical examples, which Harnoncourt inserts in a humorous and relaxed manner, make this introduction an informative and entertaining guide to this masterpiece of music. The production was filmed in the historical Baroque monastery library in Wiblingen, Germany.
Mitridate, Re di Ponto
Jean-Pierre Ponnelle and Nikolaus Harnoncourt have succeeded in turning the stylized figures of the ‘opera seria’ into living, flesh-and-blood characters. Written when Mozart was 14 and premiered at the Teatro Regio Ducale in Milan in December 1770, “Mitridate” faithfully adheres to the principles of the courtly opera seria. Such works were not expected to be realistic, but admirable and impressive, filled with coloraturas, cadenzas and vocal brilliance – much of it provided by castrati. Three of the roles in “Mitridate” were originally written for castrati and cast here with women (Farnace and Sifare) and a boy (Arbate). The production was filmed at the Teatro Olimpico in Vicenza, which was built by Andrea Palladio, one of the greatest architects of the Renaissance.
Weltliche Musik (Secular Music)
In this program featuring excerpts from secular works by Johann Sebastian Bach, Nikolaus Harnoncourt strives to reveal something of the mystery and fascination of Bach’s compositional art in the domain of non-sacred music. With his Concentus musicus Wien and the vocal soloists Janet Perry and Robert Holl, Harnoncourt interprets passages and movements from Bach’s Orchestral Suite No. 3, the Brandenburg Concertos Nos. 3 and 5, Bach’s arrangement of Benedetto Marcello’s Oboe Concerto and parts of the “Coffee Cantata”. “In my view, Bach is a total musician. No matter in what musical domain he lands, he immediately deploys his full resources and creates the greatest music that is imaginable in his time in this respective domain. […] I feel that sacred and secular music are of equal value in the lives of all significant composers, because an important composer of that time was a believer, and he didn’t make any distinction between the spiritual and the secular. In his secular life, he is just as pious as in his spiritual one, and when he eats and drinks, when he lives and loves, he is as much of a Christian as when he goes to church to pray on Sunday. He considers life as a whole, and he will write a symphony or a dance for the greater glory of God to the same extent that he would a Passion. […] German musicians… repeatedly attempted to combine the dance-like, short-winded style of French music with the eruptive, spontaneous and passionate, wild style of the Italians. The result was a well-pondered, ‘composed’ music – the Germans of that time called it ‘worked out’ – and when one hears these expressions, and knows who the greatest master of this music was, namely Bach, then one can say: this music is ‘worked out’ music. But in reality it is fulfilled music, music which comes from the innermost and the highest of man.” (Nikolaus Harnoncourt)
Dido & Aeneas
For the opening of the International Baroque Festival at Melk Abbey, the ancient world makes its way into the Abbey Church. With Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, the composer’s brilliant opera and at the same time one of the central works of music history, the festival takes on the love and suffering of a couple who are granted happiness together for only a brief moment. The lovers’ fate finally culminates in one of the most poignant moments ever composed. The Concentus Musicus Wien under its conductor Stefan Gottfried and a cast of outstanding singers make this semi-scenic performance an unforgettable experience. “A stellar hour!” (Niederösterreichische Nachrichten)
Giulio Cesare in Egitto
Triumphantly premiered in 1724 at the King’s Theatre in London, George Frideric Handel’s Giulio Cesare in Egitto masterfully combines human emotions: Triumph with sorrow, despair with happiness and love with profound melancholy in the face of the transience of all earthly life. Star director Keith Warner creates a production that imaginatively blends silent film and baroque opera, delightfully echoing Mankiewicz’s legendary Cleopatra with Elizabeth Taylor, Rex Harrison and Richard Burton. An excellent cast of singers is led by two of the world’s leading countertenors: Bejun Mehta and Christophe Dumaux. Louise Alder shines as the seductive Cleopatra. Patricia Bardon, Simon Bailey and Jake Arditti are further highlights in this extraordinary group of singers, while Ivor Bolton provides the appropriate soundtrack on the podium of the Concentus Musicus Wien. “Cheers for all involved” Kurier. “A must for baroque opera fans.” Kronen Zeitung
Claudio Monteverdi: Vespro della beata vergine
A piece of music as a ticket: his Vespers of Mary brought Claudio Monteverdi an engagement in Venice, where he made musical history as Kapellmeister of St Mark’s Cathedral. A one-way ticket, as it later turned out, but he remained loyal to this city and contributed to making it a magnet for composers and musicians from all over Europe. After his debut at Whitsun 2016, it was clear: Pablo Heras-Casado absolutely has to come back! Finally, the time has come: the star conductor once again took the podium of the Barocktage Residence Orchestra. Together with the Concentus Musicus Wien, a select cast of singers and the Ensemble Aedes he opened the International Baroque Days Stift Melk 2021 with Monteverdi’s gigantic work!
Il Mondo della luna
It was an ideal constellation for an extraordinary musical event: the coincidence of the Haydn anniversary year with the 80th birthday of Nikolaus Harnoncourt. The universally acclaimed specialist of the Viennese Classical era chose a work by Haydn for his birthday tribute, ‘Il Mondo della Luna’. The dramma giocoso of 1777 is a delicious mixture of satire, comedy and science fiction based on an immensely popular comedy by 18th-century dramatist Carlo Goldoni.