During the early years of historically informed performance practice in the 1950s, its advocates concentrated on the music of the Baroque period, later working their way forward to well into the 19th century. The Berliner Philharmoniker present this development during a single concert programme, led by the internationally successful conductor Jean-Christophe Spinosi, which ranges from Antonio Vivaldi to Mozart and Haydn to the early Romantic Gioachino Rossini. The historical model of the Classical symphony will be represented with an opera sinfonia by Vivaldi. The reconstruction of historical performing practices has in fact resulted in the introduction of significant innovations, particularly with regard to Classical repertoire before Beethoven. These changes are not only concerned with the size of the orchestra and problems of articulation but also the appropriate presentation of the compositional forms used. For example, in the finale of his last symphony, the famous “Jupiter”, Mozart embellished the Classical style with the principle of polyphony, which had predominated in early music.
Along with Spinosi, Philippe Jaroussky also makes his debut with the Berliner Philharmoniker during this concert. The French countertenor – who, like Spinosi, made his appearance on the scene when he founded his own ensemble – demonstrates in interpretations of Vivaldi and Rossini arias the broad stylistic spectrum now covered by the leading proponents of this field.
