HamburgMusik 2024-25 Review: English Baroque Soloists / Monteverdi Choir / Christophe Rousset

(Credit: Paul Marc Mitchell) The holiday spirit resonated powerfully at the Elbphilharmonie’s recent Christmas-themed concert, a year-end highlight crafted by the Monteverdi Choir and the English Baroque Soloists. Christophe Rousset’s much-anticipated debut as guest conductor, stepping in after Sir John Eliot Gardiner’s departure as artistic director, brought a fresh sense of artistic renewal and festive splendor. Drawing from the rich {…}

HamburgMusik 2024 Review: Oratorio per la Madonna del Rosario

On November 21, 2024, Hamburg’s Laeiszhalle hosted the opening concert of the five-day Viva Napoli festival, featuring the modern premiere of Leonardo Vinci’s Oratorio per la Madonna del Rosario after three hundred years’ obscurity. Composed for the annual Rosary Sunday celebrations established by Pope Gregory XIII to commemorate the Holy League’s 1571 victory over the Ottomans at Lepanto, Vinci’s Oratorio {…}