Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin
Encyclopedia
Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin (Academy for Ancient Music Berlin, short name: Akamus) is a German chamber orchestra founded in East Berlin
in 1982. Each year Akamus gives circa 100 concerts, ranging from small chamber works to large-scale symphonic pieces in Europe's musical centers as well as on tours in Asia, North America and South America.
About 30 musicians form the core of the orchestra. They perform under the leadership of their four concertmasters Midori Seiler, Stephan Mai, Bernhard Forck and Georg Kallweit or guest conductors like René Jacobs, Marcus Creed
, Daniel Reuss
, Peter Dijkstra and Hans-Christoph Rademann.
Recording exclusively for harmonia mundi France since 1994, the ensemble’s CDs have earned many international prizes, including the Grammy Award, the Diapason d'Or, the Cannes Classical Award, the Gramophone Award and the Edison Award. In 2011 the recording of Mozarts Magic Flute
was honoured with the German Record Critics' Award. In 2006 the Recorder Concertos by G. Ph. Telemann with Maurice Steger
(CD HMF) have received a number of the most important international awards.
Ever since the reopening of the Berlin Konzerthaus
in 1984, the ensemble has its own concert series in Germany’s capital. Furthermore it has regularly been guest at the Berlin Staatsoper Unter den Linden, Philharmonie Berlin, De Nederlandse Opera
in Amsterdam, at the Innsbruck Festival of Early Music and the Carnegie Hall
New York.
The ensemble works regularly with the RIAS Kammerchor
as well as with soloists like Cecilia Bartoli
, Andreas Scholl
, Sandrine Piau
and Bejun Mehta
.
Moreover, Akamus has extended its artistic boundaries to work together with the modern dance company Sasha Waltz & Guests for productions of Dido and Aeneas
(music: Henry Purcell) and Medea (music: Pascal Dusapin).
East Berlin
East Berlin was the name given to the eastern part of Berlin between 1949 and 1990. It consisted of the Soviet sector of Berlin that was established in 1945. The American, British and French sectors became West Berlin, a part strongly associated with West Germany but a free city...
in 1982. Each year Akamus gives circa 100 concerts, ranging from small chamber works to large-scale symphonic pieces in Europe's musical centers as well as on tours in Asia, North America and South America.
About 30 musicians form the core of the orchestra. They perform under the leadership of their four concertmasters Midori Seiler, Stephan Mai, Bernhard Forck and Georg Kallweit or guest conductors like René Jacobs, Marcus Creed
Marcus Creed
Marcus Creed is an English conductor.Born in Eastbourne, Sussex , he was educated at King's College in Cambridge, Christ Church in Oxford, and Guildhall School in London. He moved to Germany in 1976 and worked firstly as a coach and chorusmaster at the Deutsche Oper Berlin...
, Daniel Reuss
Daniel Reuss
Daniel Reuss is primarily known as a choral conductor.-Biography:Daniel Reuss studied with Barend Schuurman at the Rotterdam Conservatory in the Netherlands....
, Peter Dijkstra and Hans-Christoph Rademann.
Recording exclusively for harmonia mundi France since 1994, the ensemble’s CDs have earned many international prizes, including the Grammy Award, the Diapason d'Or, the Cannes Classical Award, the Gramophone Award and the Edison Award. In 2011 the recording of Mozarts Magic Flute
The Magic Flute
The Magic Flute is an opera in two acts composed in 1791 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. The work is in the form of a Singspiel, a popular form that included both singing and spoken dialogue....
was honoured with the German Record Critics' Award. In 2006 the Recorder Concertos by G. Ph. Telemann with Maurice Steger
Maurice Steger
Maurice Steger, born 1971 in Switzerland, is a musical director and as a recorder player one of the most influential and popular soloists of his generation....
(CD HMF) have received a number of the most important international awards.
Ever since the reopening of the Berlin Konzerthaus
Konzerthaus Berlin
The Konzerthaus Berlin is a concert hall situated on the Gendarmenmarkt square in the central Mitte district of Berlin housing the German orchestra Konzerthausorchester Berlin...
in 1984, the ensemble has its own concert series in Germany’s capital. Furthermore it has regularly been guest at the Berlin Staatsoper Unter den Linden, Philharmonie Berlin, De Nederlandse Opera
De Nederlandse Opera
De Nederlandse Opera , in Amsterdam, is a Dutch opera company based in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Its present home base is the Het Muziektheater, a modern building designed by Cees Dam which opened in 1986....
in Amsterdam, at the Innsbruck Festival of Early Music and the Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
New York.
The ensemble works regularly with the RIAS Kammerchor
RIAS Kammerchor
The RIAS Kammerchor is a professional chamber choir of the RIAS in Berlin, founded originally for contemporary music, with an international reputation.-History:...
as well as with soloists like Cecilia Bartoli
Cecilia Bartoli
Cecilia Bartoli is an Italian coloratura mezzo-soprano opera singer and recitalist. She is best-known for her interpretation of the music of Mozart and Rossini, as well as for her performances of lesser-known Baroque and classical music...
, Andreas Scholl
Andreas Scholl
Andreas Scholl is a German countertenor, a male classical singer in the alto vocal range. He is noted as a specialist in Baroque music.-Childhood:...
, Sandrine Piau
Sandrine Piau
Sandrine Piau is an opera soprano. Trained as a harpist, she studied voice at the Collège Lamartine and the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique du Paris....
and Bejun Mehta
Bejun Mehta
Bejun Mehta is an American countertenor who performs in operas, recitals, and concerts. He records for Harmonia Mundi.-Early life and family:...
.
Moreover, Akamus has extended its artistic boundaries to work together with the modern dance company Sasha Waltz & Guests for productions of Dido and Aeneas
Dido and Aeneas
Dido and Aeneas is an opera in a prologue and three acts by the English Baroque composer Henry Purcell to a libretto by Nahum Tate. The first known performance was at Josias Priest's girls' school in London no later than the summer of 1688. The story is based on Book IV of Virgil's Aeneid...
(music: Henry Purcell) and Medea (music: Pascal Dusapin).
Awards
- Grammy for Christoph Willibald Gluck: Italian Arias with Cecilia Bartoli, 2002
- International Classical Music Awards for Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Magic Flute, 2011
- Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik for Georg Philipp Telemann: Orpheus (René Jacobs), 1998; Arias for Farinelli, with Vivica Genaux, 2002 and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Die Zauberflöte (René Jacobs), 2011
- Choc du Monde de la Musique for Johann Sebastian Bach: Geistliche Kantaten, 1996; Johann Sebastian Bach: Christmas Oratorio, 1997; Arias for Farinelli, 2002; Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach: Sinfonias and Concertos, 2001; Johann Sebastian Bach: Motets, with RIAS-Kammerchor, 2005; Georg Philipp Telemann: Recorder concertos with Maurice Steger, 2006 and Antonio Vivaldi: Double concertos, 2007
- Choc de Classica for Georg Philipp Telemann: Brockes-Passion, 2009 and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Magic Flute, 2011
- Diapason d’Or for Alessandro Scarlatti: Il primo omicidio, 1998; Georg Philipp Telemann: La Chasse, 1999; Georg Philipp Telemann: Recorder concertos, 2006; and Reinhard Keiser: Croesus (René Jacobs), 2000; Johann Sebastian Bach: Motets, 2005 and Johann Ludwig Bach: Trauermusik, 2011
- Edison Classical Music Award for Georg Philipp Telemann: La Chasse, 1999 and Reinhard Keiser: Croesus, 2000
- Gramophone Award for Alessandro Scarlatti: Il primo omicidio, 1998 and Georg Friedrich Händel: Ombra mai fù with Andreas Scholl, 1999
- Midem Classical Award for Georg Friedrich Händel: Ombra mai fù, 1999
- Georg-Philipp-Telemann-Preis der Landeshauptstadt Magdeburg, 2006