Berlin Travel 2024

On this CD Jorg Halubek and his Ensemble "Il Gusto Barocco" attempt a reconstruction of three of Bach's organ concertos that today are primarily treated as harpsichord concertos. How thrilling must it have sounded when Johann Sebastian Bach at the organ engaged in a contest of virtuosity with an entire orchestra. The present recording offers a tangible and imaginative impression of it.

Berliner Philharmoniker One of the elite orchestras on the world stage, the Berliner Philharmoniker – also widely known as the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra – was founded in Imperial Germany in 1882. Hans von Bülow took over as conductor in 1887, raising the prestige of the organization, as did subsequent guest conductors, including Johannes Brahms, Edvard Grieg, Gustav Mahler, and Richard Strauss. In the 20th century, they survived the loss of their venue and their conductor during World War II and went on to thrive under conductor Herbert von Karajan, who led the group from 1956 to 1989. During his tenure, the orchestra won Grammy Awards for both opera and orchestral recordings. Claudio Abbado took over for Karajan from 1989 to 2002, during which time they collected five more Grammys, including one for Best Orchestral Recording for a 1979 performance of Mahler's Symphony No. 9 with Leonard Bernstein that was issued in 1992. In 2008, under the leadership of Simon Rattle, the Berlin Philharmonic established a Digital Concert Hall, which allowed audiences around the world to stream concerts either live or on demand. Kirill Petrenko became the Philharmoniker's tenth principal conductor in 2019. The Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra's 50 founding members came together in 1882 after leaving a Benjamin Bilse-led group due to low pay and poor travel conditions.

Combining these two absolute giants of European music history seems daring: Jean-Philippe Rameau (1683-1764) and ABBA (1972-)! However, even a second listen reveals countless similarities.