

Baroque virtuosity with Julia Lezhneva
Programme
- Johann Georg Pisendel Violin Concerto in D
- Antonio Vivaldi In furore giustissimae irae, RV 626
- Georg Friedrich Handel Trio Sonata in F, HWV 392
- Antonio Vivaldi Violin Concerto in D, RV 562a 'di Amsterdam'
- Jan Dismas Zelenka Hypocondria
- Johann Adolf Hasse from Irene: Un si funesto addio
- Antonio Vivaldi Concert for 2 violins in a, RV 523
- Johann Adolf Hasse from Irene: Sinfonia
- Johann Adolf Hasse from Irene: Che d'un bene mi privi ... Si, di ferri mi cingete
The early music specialists of Concerto Köln and the Russian star soprano Julia Lezhneva bring the most colourful baroque music to Amsterdam: from Vivaldi - via Pisendel - to Hasse.
Virtuoso arias by Julia Lezhneva
Was Vivaldi ever in Amsterdam? And did he write the concerto 'di Amsterdam' for the centenary of the Schouwburg? It is certain that 'Il prete rosso' was considered the emperor of instrumental music in the Netherlands. Vivaldi's top pupil Pisendel unleashed a true Vivaldi cult in Dresden. In the opera seria, Johann Adolph Hasse took the crown. Concerto Köln and Julia Lezhneva give us a taste of Irene: a piquant saga about a Byzantine empress caught in a web of intrigue. Hasse wrote the title role for his wife Faustina Bordoni: prima donna at the Saxon court chapel and one of Handel's star sopranos in London.
Expressive, daring baroque
In Saxony, the Hasses were also in the company of Zelenka, the most successful exponent of Czech Baroque. Zelenka's non-conformist style is shown to its best advantage in Hypocondrie: seven concerted instruments wrestle with pains, fainting spells and nervous crises in music that draws its energy from razor-sharp counterpoint and its expressive power from daring harmonies.