In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries the city of Dresden became a European centre of musical excellence. It was the home of a superb Hofkapelle led by Heinrich Schütz from 1615 and the development of a distinct school of violin playing, centring on composers such as Carlo Farina, Johann Jakob Walther, Johann Paul von Westhoff and Nicolaus Adam Strungk. Thanks to Schütz the court became the birthplace of opera in German, as well as a centre for other secular vocal music. A new golden age of music in Dresden began in 1694 under elector Friedrich August I of Saxony and continued under his son. Architecture, Art and Music were all cultivated to the highest standards. Composers including Silvius Leopold Weiss, Johann Georg Pisendel, Johann David Heinichen and Jan Dismas Zelenka joined the Hofkapelle and continued to promote the Italian style, and were instrumental in bringing Antonio Vivaldi’s music in the city. Italian opera also flourished in Dresden especially after the Crown Prince’s visit to Italy in 1716–1717. Antonio Lotti was engaged as a composer and leading Italian singers were recruited, including the famous castrato Senesino, who performed in the Zwinger opera house – one of the largest in Europe. In 1719 Telemann and Handel visited Dresden, at which time Handel recruited singers there for London, and in 1731 Johann Adolph Hasse arrived to produce operas. Following defeat in the seven-years’ war in 1763 and the death of the Elector soon after, Dresden’s musical excellence fell into decline, however the city’s reputation as the Florence of the Elbe had been secured.
WinterAcademy
- Bettina Pahn, Historical Voice
- Benno Schachtner, Historical Voice
- Mirjam-Luise Münzel, Recorder
- Katharina Andres, Historical Oboe
- Ernst Schlader, Historical Clarinet
- Giovanni Graziadio, Historical Basson/Dulcian
- Mechthild Karkow, Baroque Violin/Viola
- Veronika Skuplik, Baroque Violin/Viola
- Olaf Reimers, Baroque Violoncello
- Hille Perl, Viola da Gamba
- Bernhard Klapprott, Harpsichord/Pianoforte
- Krzysztof Urbaniak, Historical Organ
- Michael Fuerst, Basso Continuo
- Joachim Held, Lute
- Johanna Seitz, Historical Harp
- Detlef Bratschke, Vocal Ensemble
- Christoph Prendl, Early Music Theory
- Matthew Gardner, Musicology
Historic Brass Studio
- Susan Williams, Natural Trumpet
- Josué Meléndez, Cornetto
- Maximilien Brisson, Sackbut
- Emmanuel Frankenberg, Historical Horn
