Date
28.11. – 30.11.25

Works by
Händel · Vivaldi · Monteverdi
Corelli · A. & D. Scarlatti
Ortiz · Guerrero · Rossi

Participants
William Christie · Philippe Jaroussky
Jordi Savall · Michele Pasotti
Maxim Emelyanychev

Every second year, Berlin's Philharmonie hosts a mini-festival to celebrate the rich variety and beauty of baroque music. This year, in addition to early music legends William Christie and Jordi Savall, the Festival includes a number of its younger stars, including Maxim Emelyanychev and his ensemble Il Pomo d’Oro, the lutenist Michele Pasotti with La Fonte Musica, and the acclaimed countertenor Philippe Jaroussky with his Ensemble Artaserse. There is much to discover and much to enjoy: music from Spain, the manifold forms of the concerto grosso and, from the world of vocal music, a sequence of dramatic scenes and some meltingly beautiful arias.

In art, literature and opera, war and love are often closely intertwined. A classic example is Claudio Monteverdi’s dramatic cantata Il combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda, in which the Amazon warrior Clorinda and the Crusader Tancredi are both lovers and adversaries in a visceral battle to the death. La Fonte Musica performs this masterpiece on 30 November as part of our Baroque Weekend. It is an apt choice not only for our mini-festival but also for our season as a whole, both of which are taking place under the motto Controversial! Violent outbursts of emotion and intrigues are also prominent in Handel’s operatic cantata Aminta e Fillide, which William Christie conducts at the Weekend’s opening concert with his ensemble Les Arts Florissants and a team of accomplished young soloists.

These five high carat concerts feature other aspects of controversy. On 29 November, acclaimed countertenor Philippe Jaroussky and his Ensemble Artaserse present cantatas and arias by Antonio Vivaldi, Nicola Porpora, Baldassare Galuppi and Alessandro Scarlatti on the theme of “Jealousy”. The nonpareil Jordi Savall appears later that evening with his ensemble Hespèrion XXI to present a lush and diverse selection of Spanish.

On 30 November, Michele Pasotti and his La Fonte Musica explore the controversies that raged over the question of the “right” way to compose music just as the renaissance era was ending and the baroque era began. Il Pomo d’Oro will perform concerti grossi by Handel, Corelli, Scarlatti, Locatelli, Sammartini, Avison and Muffat. All of these works provide their solo performers with the opportunity to engage in thrilling musical competition with the orchestra. This concert, which brings our Baroque Weekend to a close, will be accompanied from the harpsichord by Maxim Emelyanychev, who has already been heard conducting the Berliner Philharmoniker.

William Christie with white hair and round glasses stands inside. He is wearing a dark, patterned shirt over a black shirt. The background is blurred by ornate gold and white decorations.

Chamber Music Hall

Baroque Weekend

Les Arts Florissants
William Christie direction and harpsichord
Jessica Niles soprano
Shakèd Bar mezzo-soprano

Works by
George Frideric Handel

George Frideric Handel
Trio Sonata in C minor, HWV 386a

George Frideric Handel
“No, di voi non vo' fidarmi”, Duet, HWV 189

George Frideric Handel
Trio Sonata in B flat major, HWV 388

George Frideric Handel
Aminta e Fillide, Cantata, HWV 83

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Chamber Music Hall

Baroque Weekend

Ensemble Artaserse
Philippe Jaroussky countertenor

Arias by Antonio Vivaldi, Nicola Porpora, as well as Domenico and Alessandro Scarlatti.

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Jordi Savall, with grey hair and a green patterned shirt, holds a wooden stringed instrument in his hand. He is standing on a dimly lit stage. Sheet music and a music stand can be seen in the foreground.

Chamber Music Hall

Baroque weekend

Hespèrion XXI:
Jordi Savall viol and direction
Xavier Díaz-Latorre guitar
Andrew Lawrence-King Barockharfe
Xavier Puertas violone
David Mayoral percussion

The Garden of the Hesperides

Works by Diego Ortiz, Gaspar Sanz, Pedro Guerrero, Francisco Correa de Arauxo and other composers

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Chamber Music Hall

Baroque weekend

La Fonte Musica
Michele Pasotti theorbo and conductor

La sera del combattimento

Works by Claudio Monteverdi, Salomone Rossi and Dario Castello

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Chamber Music Hall

Baroque weekend

Il pomo d’oro
Maxim Emelyanychev conductor

Works by
Arcangelo Corelli, Georg Muffat, Charles Avison, George Frideric Handel, Alessandro Scarlatti, Pietro Antonio Locatelli and Giuseppe Sammartini

Arcangelo Corelli
Concerto grosso in G minor, op. 6 No. 8 “Christmas Concerto”

Georg Muffat
Concerto grosso No. 1 in D major

Charles Avison
Concerto grosso No. 3 in D minor

Interval

George Frideric Handel
Concerto grosso in F major, op. 6 No. 2 HWV 320

Alessandro Scarlatti
Concerto grosso No. 1 in F minor

Pietro Antonio Locatelli
Concerto grosso in E flat major, op. 7 No. 6

Giuseppe Sammartini
Concerto grosso in A major, op. 2 No. 1

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