THE CITIES SERIES
VENICE • ROME • LONDON • PARIS • DRESDEN • BERLIN
A Musical Journey Through Baroque Europe's Cultural Capitals
This series of six concert programmes marks the culmination of Ensemble Diderot’s acclaimed Cities Series of albums. With the upcoming releases of "The Venice Album" and "The Rome Album", the ensemble completes its musical journey through Europe's baroque centres and now brings the full experience to the stage.
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It is a vibrant musical journey through Europe's baroque capitals, tracing the evolution of the trio sonata across time and place. From the bold theatricality of Venice’s stil moderno, to the refined brilliance of Rome, where Corelli and his contemporaries shaped the form, the ensemble explores each city's unique voice. In London, they uncover how Italian influence met English expressiveness, while Paris reveals an elegant fusion of French grace and Italian passion. Dresden offers opulence and celebration, with music composed for the city that was Bach's secred desire, and Berlin presents a deeply personal, lesser-known repertoire far from royal cliché. With historical insight and virtuosity, Ensemble Diderot redefines baroque chamber music for modern ears.
“A plaudit-garnering series that throws fresh angles on
periods we thought we all knew.”
GRAMOPHONE
Listen
The Dresden Album
Ensemble Diderot
Handel's visit to Dresden 1719 is the starting point of this exciting collection of chamber music from the Saxon court. Director Johannes Pramsohler unearthed some rare gems by composers associated with Dresden - music thatis far too good to fall into collective oblivion.
The London Album
Ensemble Diderot
Five years after their celebrated Dresden Album, Johannes Pramsohler and his colleagues of Ensemble Diderot continue their journey exploring the trio sonata in baroque Europe with a programme dedicated to works from Purcell’s London. Through a combination of well-known works and world premieres they show how English composers used the new Italian form as a vehicle for their creative output and how easily foreign composers picked up the English idiom to create chamber music that could hardly be more profound and expressive.
The Paris Album
Ensemble Diderot
Entirely dedicated to works from the era after Lully’s death, this album celebrates the newly found freedom at the time when composers started to combine French style with transalpine ardour. Johannes Pramsohler and his musicians bring their usual precision, passion and energy to this programme packed with new discoveries.
The Berlin Album
Ensemble Diderot
“The Berlin Album”, the fourth volume in our cities series features a programme of trio sonatas, including the first recording of Graun’s Sanguineus and Melancholicus. The album has been met with universal critical acclaim and received the International Classical Music Award in the category “Baroque instrumental”.
"The Cities Series"
Find more information in our brochure