Corelli’s Masterpieces: The Akademie Für Alte Musik Berlin’s Tribute To a Baroque Pioneer

Having completed the entire trilogy of Handel’s Concerti grossi, the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin presents Corelli: Concerti grossi Op. 6, 1-6, a recording of the first six Concerti grossi, Op. 6 by the composer, ensemble leader and violin virtuoso Arcangelo Corelli, who received the almost cult-like reverence during his lifetime.

The composer had been experimenting with this one of the most distinctive forms of instrumental music of the Baroque era since the late 1670s, but it was only towards the end of his life that he sought to publish these compositions and selected only twelve exemplary pieces from what was probably a much larger collection. He laid the foundations of this instrumental form for future composers such as the before mentioned Georg Frederic Handel, who paid tribute to the Italian Baroque master with his two opuses.

The Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin and its two concertmasters, Mayumi Hirasaki and Georg Kallweit, who demonstrate their extraordinary virtuosity, only prove why they are regarded as one of the most influential period-instrument ensembles of today.

Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin
Mayumi Hirasaki, Concertmaster (concerti Nos. 1, 3 & 5)
Georg Kallweit, Concertmaster (Concerti Nos. 2, 4 & 6)