CANCELLED due to Coronavirus - Concerto Köln in Dresden

Concerto Köln and conductor Christian Curnyn perform music from Dresden: the Bohemian Zelenka, admired by Bach, works by Heinichen, and the Amsterdam Italian Locatelli, also celebrated in Dresden.

Bach knew his Zelenka
Anyone who can count Bach among his admirers must be of good repute. This applies not least to Jan Dismas Zelenka. He is the most important representative of the Bohemian Baroque, and his masses were part of Bach's library collection. His setting of the Lamentations of Jeremiah is one of the few lamentations surviving from Central Europe. As court composer at the Electoral Chapel in Dresden, Zelenka worked with Kapellmeister Johann David Heinichen, whose oratorio Nicht das Band is also steeped in the mix of contemplation and drama that is typical of passion music.

Concerto Köln seeks lesser-known masters
The fact that Pietro Locatelli once received a heavy gold case with ducats in Dresden for his virtuoso violin playing is possibly a legend. What is certain is that this Italian who lived in Amsterdam for almost forty years also had a knack for composing. The Sinfonia for his wife's funeral is a quasi-scenic reverie that leads from Lamento (a lingering funeral march) to Consolatione (a dance-like Andante). The performance is conducted by Concerto Köln: one of the world's most renowned early music ensembles, which proves time and again that it has a faultless nose for lesser-known masters.