Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach Chamber Orchestra
| Kammerorchester Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach | |
|---|---|
| Orchestra | |
| Founded | 1969 |
| Concert hall | Konzerthaus Berlin, Philharmonie Berlin |
| Principal conductor | Hartmut Haenchen |
| Website | haenchen |
The Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach Chamber Orchestra (German: Kammerorchester Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach) is a German chamber orchestra, founded in 1969 in Berlin, dedicated to the music of Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach and his contemporaries.
What was to become the Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach Chamber Orchestra was formed comprising members of the Staatskapelle Berlin in 1969 by the composer Jean Kurt Forest with the support of the general manager of the Staatsoper Hans Pischner, with the aim of performing contemporary music. Jean Kurt Forest was succeeded as artistic director by Dieter-Gerhard Worm.
In 1980, following the initial collaboration with Hartmut Haenchen and then his appointment as artistic director, this specialist modern music orchestra changed its profile to concentrate on early classical repertoire, in particular that of the composer it was named after and his contemporaries. The reason for this change was state regulation by the East German government, which exerted influence on which contemporary works should be played. From these experiences arose the idea of searching for rediscoveries in Berlin musical history and of naming Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, Friedrich the Great’s court harpsichordist, the ensemble’s patron.
By the 1980s, Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, whose music belongs to the avant-garde of the 18th century, had been virtually forgotten. The orchestra’s extensive recordings of C.P.E. Bach’s works, many of them first recordings, were distinguished with numerous prizes. The C.P.E. Bach Chamber Orchestra held a special place in Berlin’s musical life as “a point of reference for excellence of quality and unmistakable style” (Berliner Zeitung). There followed tours and invitations to festivals, and the chamber orchestra was a guest in Japan, Italy, Austria (Salzburg Festival, Vienna Musikwochen), the Netherlands, Spain, Poland and Switzerland, as well as at Germany’s most important music festivals, such as the Brandenburgischer Musiksommer, the Dresdner Musikfestspiele, the Ludwigsburger Schlossfestspiele, the Mozartfest Würzburg, the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, the Schwetzinger Festspiele and the Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. It performed with world-famous soloists including Dietrich Fischer-Diskau, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Deborah Polaski, Sviatoslav Richter, Christine Schäfer and Frank Peter Zimmermann, as well as with Peter Schreier as singer and conductor. TV productions, radio broadcasts and 62 CDs and DVDs document the artistic quality of the ensemble.
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