"Top level musicianship ..." - "Poignant moments of most touching compassion ..." - "Incredibly homogenous and attractive sound ..." - "Well-balanced voices, rich, rousing, full of charming warmth ..." - "A peak ensemble, nothing outbids its tantalizing style of interpretation ..."
CAMERATA BERN is a highly-acclaimed chamber orchestra uniting top level musicians inspired by the idea of performing within a flexible, self-conducted ensemble.
Founded in 1962, the CAMERATA BERN is a highly-acclaimed chamber orchestra uniting top level musicians inspired by the idea of performing within a flexible, self-conducted ensemble. Among its members are gifted soloists and chamber musicians. Under its artistic director, Grammy-award winner Patricia Kopatchinskaja, as well as guest concertmasters Antje Weithaas, Amandine Beyer, Enrico Onofri and others, the orchestra stands out for its subtle and perfectly homogeneous sound, its freshness and mastery of style in a broad repertoire ranging from early Baroque on period instruments to today’s composers.
Mozart: Symphony No. 25 in G minor, KV 183 - I. Allegro con brio
Beethoven: Symphony No. 4 in B flat major, Op.60 - II. Adagio
Brahms: Serenade No. 1 in D major - IV. Menuetto
Schubert: Symphony No. 4 in C minor, D417 - IV. Allegro
Beethoven: Violin Sonata No. 9 in A major, Op. 49 'Kreutzer' - arr. Richard Tognetti - III. Presto
Founded in 1962, the CAMERATA BERN is a highly-acclaimed chamber orchestra uniting top level musicians inspired by the idea of performing within a flexible, self-conducted ensemble. Among its members are gifted soloists and chamber musicians. Under its artistic director, Grammy-award winner Patricia Kopatchinskaja, as well as guest concertmasters Antje Weithaas, Amandine Beyer, Enrico Onofri and others, the orchestra stands out for its subtle and perfectly homogeneous sound, its freshness and mastery of style in a broad repertoire ranging from early Baroque on period instruments to today’s composers.
The ensemble’s outstanding qualities has led it to perform with such eminent artists as Heinz Holliger, Attilio Cremonesi, András Schiff, Alexander Lonquich, Jörg Widmann, Tabea Zimmermann, Bernd Glemser, Christian Gerhaher, Vesselina Kasarova, Radu Lupu, Barbara Hendricks, Peter Schreier, Reinhold Friedrich, Leonidas Kavakos, Angelika Kirchschlager and others.
The ensemble has toured extensively in Europe, South- and North-America, as well as in South-East Asia, the Far East, Australia and Japan. Its recordings on Sony, Deutsche Grammophon/Archiv, Decca, Denon, ERATO, Berlin Classics, Novalis, ECM, Claves and Philips have won several international awards, such as the Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik, the Grand Prix International du Disque, the International Record Critics Award, the Record Academy Prize, and the Prize Echo Klassik ‘97 of the Deutsche Phono-Akademie. The latest CD-releases feature Antje Weithaas in Brahms’ and Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concertos (CAVI September 2015, February 2018). Several CD-releases with Patricia Kopatchinskaja are in the pipeline.
Lately, CAMERATA BERN has performed among others at the Great Hall of the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest, the Konzerthaus Berlin, Zuiderstrandtheater in The Hague, De Oosterpoort Groningen, Concertzaal Tilburg, Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico, Alte Oper in Frankfurt, Teatro Carlo Felice in Genova, Teatro Nacional in San José/Costa Rica, Teatro Nacional in Panama, Cervantino Festival in Guanajuato/Mexico, Morelia Festival in Mexico, Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, in the Sala Sao Paulo, at the Teatro Solis in Montevideo, deSingel International Kunstcampus in Antwerp, at Geneva’s Victoria Hall, in the Tonhalle in Zürich, Wartburg in Eisenach, at the Teatro comunale Mario Del Monaco in Treviso.
Within its large scale educational project for children since 2010, the CAMERATA BERN has performed over 140 concerts in schools across the Canton of Bern. The project developed in the frame of the Education Department’s “Education and culture” programme has reached over 15’000 children up to now, mainly in the canton’s rural areas.
With the English choreographer Cathy Marston, CAMERATA BERN has coproduced two full-length choreographies featuring the Dance Company of Berne’s Theatre. In each 10 performances, “Flight of gravity” (music by Martinu, Tartini, Silvestrow and Penderecki) in 2011, and “Hexenhatz” (Witch-hunt) (Italian baroque music on period instruments) in 2013 thrilled the Berne audience. In March 2015, CAMERATA BERN co-produced Monteverdi’s “L’Orfeo” on period instruments with Berne’s City Opera. Recently, the musical theatre piece “Die Formel“ by Torsten Rasch premiered in March 2018 also at Berne’s City Opera.
CAMERATA BERN hosts its own subscription concerts cycles in Berne at the Paul Klee Centre, at the Konservatorium and at the Kultur-Casino. The CAMERATA BERN FOUNDATION is subsidized by the City, the Burgergemeinde and Canton of Berne and receives project-related funding from different foundations and sponsoring partners. One of its main partners is the Ursula Wirz Foundation.