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Musica ad Rhenum has, since its founding in 1992, created a devoted following in the musical world.
The intensely personal and highly emotional style which characterizes the performances of the group has earned
them a special place on the early music scene. "Exhilarating", "controversial", "virtuoso" and "cutting-edge" are words
which critics have used to describe the highly-charged atmosphere the group has created in concert at
festivals and halls throughout Europe, North and South America, Iceland, Israel and Japan.
Blending an informed historical perspective with a lively artistic spirit, balancing the intentions
of the composer against the needs of the creative performer, Musica ad Rhenum aims to make
an impact on the audience; to move, amuse and delight them, through the music itself. The essence of
the artistic experience, the meeting of minds separated by centuries, the moving of passions felt by
hearts now turned to dust, needs no frivolous trappings, no gimmicks. Musica ad Rhenum is convinced,
and has convinced audiences around the world, that Baroque music is as strong, expressive and
free as the performers themselves, and as relevant to the world today as it was when first composed.
With more than 30 CDs on the market, with prizes and recommendations to their credit and repeated invitations
to perform in the most prestigious venues, Musica ad Rhenum has proven its merit. The group has
performed at festivals in York, London, Graz, Antwerpen, Madrid, Berlin and Utrecht, and on the concerts
series of Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Frick Museum New York, Wigmore Hall London, Philharmonie Berlin and
both Musikhaus and Musikverein Vienna. The core activity of the group is the performance of
18th-century chamber music: most recently the group has specialised in French music, which they
approach with the enthousiasm, style and sense of fun which characterizes all their work. Their success
with this repertoire can perhaps be judged by their 2004 recording of the complete chamber music of
François Couperin, which has been highly praised in the press and has sold more than 20,000 copies.
However, Musica ad Rhenum is not soley a chamber music group. Traverso-player and founder Jed Wentz
also conducts the orchestral formation in large-scale works, and recent recordings and staged
performances of operas by Mozart, Purcell and Handel have been hailed by critics for their verve and
freshness. Whether the repertoire be intimate chamber music or grand, tragic opera, a concert by
Musica ad Rhenum is not soon to be forgotten.
For more
information: Jed
Wentz Annelies
van Os |