Young Stars
- Max Volbers, recorder
- Alexander von Heißen, harpsichord
‘Foreign Masters’: Migrants from all over Europe shaped the incomparably rich music scene of London, the cultural capital of the 18th century. Max Volbers, winner of the 2023 OPUS KLASSIK award for Young Artist of the Year, and Alexander von Heißen, winner of the 2022 Bach Competition, bring a particularly dazzling facet of the music metropolis to life.
Handel from Halle was the most influential English composer, his opera arias were pop on the island. Under Handel's baton, the Italian oboist Sammartini made a name for himself in the orchestra; his compositions were considered original and fiery. Alessandro Scarlatti's ‘Pyrrhus and Demetrius’ was the second most successful opera in the kingdom. Corelli and Alberti, who never set foot on English soil, were made stars by resourceful music publishers in the cosmopolitan city. At the same time, the recorder became fashionable as the ‘gentleman's flute’, the instrument of wealthy amateurs and connoisseurs who performed for guests in private circles. Jacques Paisible/James Pesible, one of the greatest recorder players of the time, also helped his instrument to reach new heights in England.
It was musical migration, then, that gave English music its immensely rich heritage!
Works by George Frideric Handel, Arcangelo Corelli, Giuseppe Sammartini, Giuseppe Alberti, Johann Pepusch and others.
With the kind support of the German Music Council