Composer

Beethoven’s late sonatas sit at the centre of this rich programme of masterpieces, not the least of which is the ricercar that Bach performed for Frederick the Great in Potsdam in 1747. “Old Bach of Leipzig” improvised on the King’s theme while using a newly developed fortepiano; the finished composition can thus lay claim to be the first major piano work.

James Lisney – A Musical Offering

The Stoller Hall

The Collegium Musicum performs music from the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries, with repertoire ranging from solo cantatas to madrigals, oratorios, operas, concertos, and other orchestral works. Recent concerts have included performances of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos, Handel’s Concerti Grossi, op. 3, Purcell’s King Arthur and The Fairy Queen, Lully’s Psyché and Thésée, Luigi Rossi’s Orfeo, Cavalli’s Ercole amante and La virtù de’ strali d’Amore, and Monteverdi’s Madrigali guerrieri, et amorosi.

EPSG:4326

Collegium Musicum

Eastman School of Music

2nd Chamber Concert: Festive Music for Advent

Allerheiligen-Hofkirche

Antoine Tamestit : Chamber orchestra

Prinzregententheater

Nur jedem das Seine (BWV 163) is the first of two cantatas composed in late 1715 for the court in Weimar, where Bach compiled the Brandenburg Concertos. (We will hear the second, Bereitet die Wege, bereitet die Bahn! (BWV 132), in December’s event.) At the time he was about a year into his employment there and the Court was just emerging from a period of mourning for Prince Johann Ernst, a keen and skilled musician. Speaking to the concerns of the court, the cantata takes as its inspiration the story of the Pharisees laying a trap for Jesus by questioning him about the legality of paying tax to Caesar.

Bach, the Universe & Everything: November 2025

Kings Place

Orchester Wiener Akademie

Musikverein Wien

For Johann Sebastian Bach, music ran in the family, and his sons created some of the innovative (and enjoyable) music of the 18th century. But for Tamara Stefanovich – a pianist who’s been described as “fearless, dazzling, exceptional” – there’s more than one side to every musical story, and today she reveals another, captivating side to the genius of Bach: western music’s most beautiful mind.

Steinway International Piano Series: Tamara Stefanovich

Bute Park

This artist is simply incredible! In recent years, Jaeden Izik-Dzurko has collected first prizes at international piano competitions like other people collect stamps. He won three in 2022, and two more in 2024 – and those are just the most important competitions. To say that the Canadian is a magnificent pianist seems almost an understatement: Up and down the country, the press and audiences praise his outstanding technique, the depth of his interpretations, and his charisma. We will be hearing more from Jaeden Izik-Dzurko, that's for sure. And soon, at ProArte: At the Elbphilharmonie, the pianist will present sophisticated and virtuosic works from Bach to Scriabin.

Discover Talent: Jaeden Izik-Dzurko / Piano Recital

Elbphilharmonie Hamburg

When one of Europe’s most renowned boys’ choirs, the famous Regensburger Domspatzen, presents a Christmas programme with one of the leading baritones of our time, Benjamin Appl, then visitors can look forward to the highest quality and a special Advent concert. Famous chorales and motets will be performed alongside particularly beautiful Christmas carols such as »Es ist ein Ros entsprungen« und »Adeste fideles«. The concert will be performed largely a cappella, i.e. without an orchestra, and will get the audience in Hamburg in the mood for Advent in a contemplative and festive way. Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

Regensburg Cathedral Choir / Benjamin Appl / Christian Heiss

Two figures stand side by side on this poster: the sovereign figure of Bach, with the galvanizing energy of the Brandenburg Concertos, and the kaleidoscopic figure of Schubert, whose precious material is seized upon by Berio's imagination. 

Orchestre de Paris / Masato Suzuki

Philharmonie de Paris

Getting up on a Sunday and enjoying Bach is the guarantee of a week that starts well. The musicians of the National are reunited with harpsichordist Jeanne Jourquin for the second part of their complete Brandenburg Concertos, which they began two seasons ago. We enjoy the Third and its false airs of Vivaldi, the Fourth , a violin concerto dotted with unexpected dialogues with the flutes, and the Sixth and last, a sublimation and quintessence of the concerto grosso .

National Sundays / Bach, Brandenburger

Maison de la Radio et de la Musique

Canadian pianist Tony Siqi Yun, Gold Medalist at the First China International Music Competition, performs works by Bach, Schumann, Liszt, and Brahms at his Koerner Hall debut.

Mr. Yun has been hailed as a “poet of the keyboard” (Pianist Magazine) and The Philadelphia Inquirer noted his thrilling performance and “interpretive flashes that point to an emergent big personality: moments of grandness or deep expressivity.” He made his Carnegie Hall debut in 2023-24 under the baton of Yannick Nézet-Séguin with Orchestre Métropolitain, following his 2022-23 debut with the Philadelphia Orchestra. Mr. Yun has appeared recently with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony, Calgary Philharmonic, Buffalo Philharmonic, Hamilton (ON) Philharmonic, and Rhode Island Philharmonic; outside North America, he has recently appeared with Orchestre de Chambre de Paris and Shanghai Symphony Orchestra.

Tony Siqi Yun, piano

The Royal Conservatory of Music

"The Art of Fugue" is, quite bluntly put, a collection of compositions on a theme whose possibilities are systematically explored. Here, Johann Sebastian Bach not only employs various types of fugues (simple fugue, counter-fugue, double fugue, triple fugue, mirror fugue, canon) and their traditional forms (inversion, augmentation, and reduction), but also other, more general musical means. Under Bach's hands, the project of a practical teaching tool attained an unexpected quality and, despite all its erudition, remains pure music of infectious vitality and typically Bachian expressiveness. 

True touchstones

Bochumer Symphoniker

In a beloved annual tradition, Gateway Chamber Orchestra ushers in the holiday season in collaboration with the Gateway Chorale, Clarksville Children’s Choir, and Madison Street United Methodist Church at Winterglow – a Baroque Celebration. This year’s winter baroque concert, led by GCO’s new Music Director Jacob Aaron Schnitzer, features timeless classics like Bach’s Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D Major (you might know its famous “Air on the G String”) and Vivaldi’s Gloria. We celebrate our holiday cheer with the Clarksville Children’s Chorus, Madison Street’s glorious organ, and toy instruments… dare we say it… there will be fun for all.!

Winterglow – A Baroque Celebration

Madison Street United Methodist Church

Sip in style at this chamber concert featuring a titan of classical music! This chamber concert features Bach's Coffee Cantata, a comedic piece for voice and strings that tells the story of a girl and her father arguing over love, life, and caffeine. Enjoy the humorous tale in an immersive environment, with coffee and pastries available. Fans of small ensembles and musical storytelling will especially love this program.

Coffee Cantata

Arts XL Center

Ashley Hall-Tighe is an internationally acclaimed trumpeter known for her warm tone, expressive artistry, and dynamic performances on stages from the Sydney Opera House to Beijing’s NCPA. A former touring member of Canadian Brass, she is a sought-after soloist, chamber musician, and educator.

Masterworks: Italian Impressions

Lenoir-Rhyne University

The COP's second concert features a different set of the three B's!  We hope you enjoy these rarely played works by Britten and Barberas well as a favorite Bach Concerto performed by Amaury Morales.

The Other Three B's

Rodef Shalom Congregation

For those who love the violin, Judith Ingolffssohn plays and directs a program of double violin concertos with concert-master, Min-Young Kim, including Bach’s only concerto for two violins: Concerto for Two Violins in D minor, BWV 1043. It is, a work of remarkably expressive intensity. Double violin concertos by Schnittke, Vivaldi, and Handel complete the program.

Judith Ingolfsson Plays Bach

Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts

Bach’s Third Orchestral Suite

Wooddale Church

Ordway Center for the Performing Arts

Inspired by Bach’s ability to speak to our shared humanity, Yo-Yo Ma performs the six unaccompanied cello suites in a very special solo concert. Experience one of the greatest artists—and arts ambassadors—of our time, and celebrate music’s ability to inspire, uplift, and bring people together.

Yo-Yo Ma, cello

Boston Symphony Hall

Violinist Alexi Kenney returns to play and direct a compelling selection of Baroque and contemporary gems spanning several centuries. Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons lays out a sequence of scenes, all shaped by elemental forces: wind, rain, sunshine, and snow. Vivaldi creates an immersive sound-world complete with calling birds, murmuring streams, rustling leaves, barking dogs, lurching peasants, rolling thunder, chattering teeth. Any composer can simulate natural sounds and noises; Vivaldi makes us feel them. Rich in tunes and tonal contrasts, Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos blend the sparkling refinement of the French suite and the lusty vigor of the Italian concerto grosso with the contrapuntal grandeur of German organ music. Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 features a dazzling dance between three virtuoso soloists—on flute, violin, and keyboard—and orchestra.

Vivaldi’s Four Seasons

San Francisco Symphony

A new take on Bach's Goldberg Variations: The Jewish Chamber Orchestra Munich performs them in the sensitive arrangement for chamber orchestra by Józef Koffler, a Polish-Jewish composer whose career began very successfully. In the late 1920s, however, under the pressure of political developments, he stopped composing himself and orchestrated the works of others. He was assassinated in 1944, and to this day, his work remains little known. In the interplay of strings and woodwind, his orchestration explores new aspects of Bach's "Clavier Uebung": Baroque variation art meets the richness of sound of a small orchestra.

Jewish Chamber Orchestra Munich

Blaibach Concert Hall

“Colors dance, moods swing, and Chen’s artistry blazes.” (The Times) 

“Ray Chen can do pretty much anything he wants on the violin.” (The Washington Post)

Born in Taiwan and raised in Australia, Ray Chen was accepted to the Curtis Institute of Music at age 15 and captured the world’s attention as First Prize winner of both the Yehudi Menuhin and Queen Elizabeth Competitions. Profiled as “one to watch” by The Strad and Gramophone magazines, his profile has grown to be featured in the Forbes list of 30 most influential Asians under 30, and appearances in the TV series Mozart in the Jungle. He plays the 1715 “Joachim” Stradivarius violin, once owned by the famed Hungarian violinist, Joseph Joachim.

Ray Chen, violin, with Julio Elizalde, piano

Cleverly conceived and unusual programs are Víkingur Ólafsson's trademark. Whether he's bringing Bach into conversation with Kurtág, Debussy with Rameau—or simply spending a whole season playing exclusively Bach's Goldberg Variations: When the Icelander sits at the piano, you can be sure of discovering new things and hearing familiar things in a completely new way.

Víkingur Ólafsson / Piano Recital

Chair of Historical Performance and Co-Director of SFCM Baroque Orchestra Corey Jamason is a Grammy-nominated harpsichordist whose playing of Bach was described in the Los Angeles Times as displaying "the careful, due balance of objective detachment and lofty passion."

Corey Jamason, Historical Performance

San Francisco Conservatory of Music

Is there more perfectly formed Baroque music than Johann Sebastian Bach's "Goldberg Variations"? Numerous self-respecting pianists have attempted them. Glenn Gould twice. And most recently, Víkingur Ólafsson and Lang Lang, to name just a few. Named after the musician Johann Gottlieb Goldberg, born in Danzig in 1727, the 30 variations on a G major aria theme with a common bass melody are an absolute pinnacle of the art of variation, against which subsequent composers have always measured themselves. 

Goldberg Variations

GDA Göttingen

Reformed Church of Göttingen

Music straight from Marianna Shirinyan's heart: Get to know our artist-in-residence better for a concert that comes all the way around the piano.
Marianna Shirinyan is the Aarhus Symphony Orchestra's Artist in Residence – and we're celebrating that with an entire concert featuring only piano. Because the piano can do it all: “The piano is a percussion instrument, it's a string instrument – ​​and it's a singing instrument; the piano can sing,” says Marianna Shirinyan. “As pianists, we are incredibly rich. A lifetime is not enough to play the music that has been written for our instrument.”

Shirinyan

Aarhus Music Hall

The always-evolving Met Orchestra Chamber Ensemble features musicians from the legendary Met Orchestra in a variety of unique programs. Together, along with special guest artists from the Metropolitan Opera and beyond, they explore a boundless world of chamber music, adapting to fit the instrumental needs of any piece—from all-time classics to hard-to-find hidden gems and standout works by many of today’s significant composers. In this Sunday matinee, they perform one of J. S. Bach’s legendary Brandenburg concertos, plus inventive arrangements of Richard Strauss’s Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks and Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 15.

The Met Orchestra Chamber Ensemble 2025 Concert 2

Carnegie Hall

This concert celebrates the genius of Johann Sebastian Bach, featuring the magnificent cantata, "Wachet auf!" (Sleepers Awake!), a beloved choral work build around the iconic melody that appears in numerous Christians hymnals. Paired with Clarice Assad's innovative Suite for Lower Strings, a contemporary composition that reimagines some of Bach's most popular themes through the unique voices of the lower string section, this program offers a fresh perspective on Bach's timeless music. The concert culminates with the chorale's uplifting rendition of Lauridsen's O Magnum Mysterium, a sublime tribute to the mysterious wonders.

Sleepers Awake

Mayo Civic Center

Juno Award winner, UNESCO Ambassador, and alumnus of The Royal Conservatory’s Glenn Gould School, Jan Lisiecki plays Preludes by Chopin, Bach, Messiaen, and Rachmaninov.

Jan Lisiecki, piano

Described by The New Yorker as “the most remarkable virtuoso in the relatively unchronicled history of his instrument,” seven-time Grammy winner Edgar Meyer is the only bassist to receive both the Avery Fisher Prize and a MacArthur Genius Award. Meyer’s new all-star American trio blends bluegrass roots with classical virtuosity in a program of Bach, two early Meyer trios, and a new work Meyer composed expressly for this dynamic ensemble.

Tessa Lark, violin Joshua Roman, cello Edgar Meyer, double bass

Johns Hopkins University

More than a pianist, Hayato Sumino is a phenomenon. Known on YouTube as “Cateen,” the Japanese musician has earned tens of millions of views for his captivating interpretations of classical masterworks and original compositions. A semi-finalist at the 18th International Chopin Piano Competition, he has reignited interest in the iconic composer. In his highly anticipated Symphony Center debut, Sumino performs works by Chopin, Bach and Ravel, alongside his own evocative pieces, including New Birth and Recollection.

Hayato Sumino

Chicago Symphony Orchestra

Compiled in 1721, and presented to the Margrave of Brandenburg-Schwedt in Berlin, the six Brandenburg Concertos were written for a diverse, demanding and sometimes daring combination of instruments and represent some of the most jubilant and joyful music of the 18th century. Not discovered until 100 years after Bach’s death, the works are now widely regarded as masterpieces in Western music and human civilisation, so much so that in 1977, the second concerto was sent into space on the Voyager Golden Record as a supreme example of human achievement.

Bach Akademie Australia: The Complete Brandenburg Concertos

ACO On The Pier

Prepare for an emotional rollercoaster, from the intricate artistry of Bach's Ricercare No. 2 and the radiant brilliance of his Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 to the raw, visceral intensity of Shostakovich's Chamber Symphony and the vibrant, theatrical energy of his Ballet Suite No. 1.

Northshore Classics: Bach & Shostakovich

Greater Covington Center

Bach & Brahms

The Smith Center for the Performing Arts

Beethoven's piano sonatas are profound explorations of the great themes of music, life, and human existence. They are among the greatest masterpieces in the history of music and reflect both his personal journey and the evolution of music. For his concert, Víkingur Ólafsson has chosen Sonatas No. 27 and 30. The latter is considered one of the summit works of piano literature. It combines clarity and depth, and especially the second movement, a meditative Adagio, allows space for intimate reflection, while the finale, with its varying themes, showcases Beethoven's creativity. Beethoven's great predecessor, Johann Sebastian Bach, and one of his famous successors, Franz Schubert, are also featured in the program with other works, highlighting significant events in European piano music. Invited by the Dresden Philharmonic in cooperation with DK Deutsche Klassik.

Víkingur with Beethoven

Palace of Culture

The Basel Chamber Orchestra, founded in 1984, has captured global attention with its versatility on period and modern instruments. Felix Mendelssohn’s youthful string symphonies frame its exploration of two Bach concertos with Norwegian violinist Vilde Frang, praised by The Times for her ‘vividly emotional’ playing, as soloist.

Bach and Felix Mendelssohn

Wigmore Hall

Bach & Shostakovich

New Marigny Theatre

Beethoven's watershed Ninth Symphony is the culmination of a year-long exploration of works by this greatest of musical revolutionaries. Hear this colossal choral wonder with a lineup of must-see singers with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. Nathalie Stutzmann opens with Bach's piquant Concerto for Oboe and Violin, featuring the stunning artistry of our own principal musicians, David Coucheron and Elizabeth Koch Tiscione. The world-renowned Atlanta Symphony Chorus sings Bach's exquisite Cantata No. 56.

Beethoven Project Finale: Beethoven's Ninth

The Woodruff Arts Center

We are delighted about this special addition: Today, together with pianist Schaghajegh Nosrati, we present our new grand piano to you for the first time!

Good friends give you wings

András Schiff is one of the world’s most distinguished concert pianists. He brings the music into the sharpest possible focus – without ever losing its magic. He often appears as both conductor and soloist, as in this concert, which features Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 23 – one of his most frequently performed and beloved works.

Bach, Mozart and Schumann

Stockholm City Hall

Thank you! Anniversary concert

Kulturhaus Osterfeld e. V.

Bach and Mozart

Jonathan Brown was the violist of the Cuarteto Casals, with whom he performed in all of the major concert halls in Europe, North America and Asia, as well as making numerous recordings on the Harmonia Mundi label including repertoire ranging from Bach through Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven to Bartók, Ligeti and Shostakovich. This performance is presented in collaboration with SFCM alumni, faculty, and students.

Chamber Music Tuesday with Jonathan Brown

Pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard is a renowned interpreter of both historical and contemporary repertoire. Here he performs the latter half of J.S. Bach’s The Well-Tempered Clavier, showcasing the full harmonic spectrum of the keyboard.

Pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard in Recital

Benaroya Hall

For four years, star pianist Kit Armstrong has dedicated himself to Ludwig van Beethoven together with conductor Jan Caeyers and his orchestra – in a total of 27 concerts. The main part of this concert consists of two works by Beethoven, the Fourth Symphony and the »Andante favouri«, which are played relatively rarely, probably because they are bursting with sunshine and light-heartedness, which is quite untypical of Beethoven. They are an expression of Beethoven’s optimism at the time, which was partly work-related – but also related to his relationship with Josephine von Brunsvik, his presumed »immortal lover«, to whom he dedicated the »Andante favouri«.

The Olympic Concert / Kit Armstrong / Jan Caeyers

Baroque lovers will rejoice as we welcome the harpsichord in Bach’s Concerto in A major with Florence native Gabriel Smallwood. Bruckner’s monumental Fourth Symphony is a majestic, expansive journey through medieval landscapes, echoing with hunting horns and sweeping lyricism.

Go for Baroque

FMU's Performing Arts Center

During the 2025/26 season, various chamber concerts will again take place in the Mainz-Weisenau Synagogue.

2nd Chamber Concert in the Synagogue

Alte Synagoge Mainz-Weisenau

The English Concert brings their magic touch to Caramoor once again. After captivating audiences with all-Vivaldi programs in 2021 and 2023, this renowned British ensemble returns under Harry Bicket’s masterful direction from the harpsichord. Playing on authentic 17th-century instruments, they achieve something truly special—passionate, fiery performances that never sacrifice precision or delicate beauty. Experience firsthand why they’re considered one of the world’s premier period-instrument ensembles. 

The English Concert

The Rosen House at Caramoor

Klas Torstensson’s magnificent opera The Expedition tells the story of Andrée’s ill-fated Arctic journey – a subject that has fascinated Torstensson since his early teens. We hear Intermezzo and Epilogue from the opera – two sections that vividly reflect the contrasts in his music. The beautiful epilogue, a kind of aria based on letters and diary entries, comes strikingly close to Puccini in its lyrical depth.

Composer Festival – The Expedition

True to its mission of promoting and raising awareness of classical music, the Opéra Orchestre National Montpellier Occitanie travels across the Occitanie region in various formations.

COR-des Quartet

La Tuilerie

Volcanic forces, but also the most tender and heartbreakingly emotional music – Klas Torstensson moves between extremes. Born in Sweden but long based in the Netherlands, he is a composer with significant international reach. This year’s Composer Festival focuses primarily on his work from the past two decades, but also includes music from the early 1970s, making the festival a wide-ranging retrospective.

Composer Festival – Opening Concert

Far from having fully explored its vast riches or uncovered all its secrets, Les Violons du Roy have devoted themselves to the music of the great Johann Sebastian Bach for over 40 years. Renowned musician and musicologist Robert D. Levin joins them on this fascinating quest through some of the great master’s most remarkable works.

Leçons de Bach

Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal

Palais Montcalm – Maison de la musique

The legendary Canadian baroque orchestra Tafelmusik is no stranger to San Diego audiences. But when it joins forces with “the unsurpassed British glory of the baroque violin” (The Times) Rachel Podger—serving as both soloist and conductor—the ensemble is sure to deliver an unforgettable evening. Their program Brilliant Baroque features suites and concertos by Lully, Telemann, Handel, and the reconstructed violin concerto BWV 1056R by JS Bach.

Tafelmusik

St. James by-the-Sea Episcopal Church

The second subscription concert of the Orchestral Series will combine the latest music with works by masters of earlier periods. Oscar Jockel will perform the demanding, but historically traditional dual role of composer-conductor.

Despite his young age, he has managed to captivate audiences, critics, as well as the world’s leading conductors. He has been conducting assistant to Kirill Petrenko, the Chief Conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic, and demonstrated his professional qualities with the Prague Philharmonia in the past.

Jockel. Haydn. Bach. Mozart

Dvořák Hall Rudolfinum

Brothers Jonathan & Tom Scott perform in instrumental combinations which cover the entire keyboard spectrum with a busy international concert schedule of performances across the UK, as well as at major festivals and concert halls all over the world.

Scott Brothers Duo

The Bridgewater Hall

Closing concert of the Märkische Musiktage

Kreiskulturhaus Seelow

Bach's music was a great inspiration for Johannes Brahms, who dedicated his choral work "Warum ist das Licht gegeben dem Müseligen" from 1877 to the great Bach scholar Philipp Spitta. The entire work revolves around the big question: "Why": If God is almighty and merciful, why is there all this suffering in the world? The motet ends with a hymn text based on Simeon's Praise by Luther. Here the struggle is over, and the vulnerable have found rest and comfort in the belief that death is not the last word.

All Saints' Day concert

Mogens Dahl Koncertsal

JS Bach: Mass in B minor (15)

St. George's Church Eisenach

They say that Bach wrote his Goldberg Variations to soothe a nobleman during his long, sleepless nights. A simple melody unlocks a chain of 30 musical puzzles; brilliant, profound and endlessly fascinating, they have delighted and intrigued listeners for centuries. Today, three of the RSNO’s string players come together for an encounter with one of music’s most beautiful minds. Join them and experience the depth, brilliance and emotional range of this hugely popular Baroque masterpiece. 

Bach’s Goldberg Variations

Glasgow Royal Concert Hall

The Hamburg Stage Ensemble invites you to an extraordinary concert experience in which the solo skills of the musicians take centre stage. The programme includes masterpieces from different eras and combines works by Antonio Vivaldi, Johann Sebastian Bach, Georg Philipp Telemann and Ernest Bloch to create a fascinating musical arc. This concert promises not only technical perfection, but also a journey into the emotional depths of music. It offers a unique blend of virtuosity, expressiveness and stylistic diversity that will delight music lovers.

Hamburg Stage Ensemble

A Master Choreographer’s New Ballet to Bach’s Legendary Music.

Bach’s unfinished masterpiece, The Art of the Fugue, stands as one of classical music’s greatest works. Now, internationally acclaimed Ukrainian choreographer Alexei Ratmansky creates a new ballet set to this iconic score.

Ratmansky, one of today’s most sought-after choreographers, is deeply rooted in the classical ballet tradition, yet his works are filled with fresh and original ideas. After several years away, he returns to Denmark with The Art of the Fugue, an entirely abstract, almost cosmic ballet in five acts, danced to Bach’s musical masterpiece.

The Art of the Fugue

Royal Danish Opera

Apricot Time

Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz

Antonio Vivaldi and Johann Sebastian Bach – both undisputed grand masters of the Baroque, yet as different as one can be.

Sacrifice and Praise

Johann Sebastian Bach St. John Passion BWV 245 (excerpts)
in conjunction with improvisations on ancient oriental instruments and other pieces

Inspired by a concept by conductor Ivan Fischer, we bring musical worlds together: excerpts from Bach's St. John Passion enter into a dialogue with rousing improvisations on Middle Eastern instruments, presenting both musical traditions in a new and multifaceted way. In addition to top-class vocal soloists, we welcome two cross-border artists from East and West: Israeli percussionist Zohar Fresco is a master of the frame drum Tof Miriam, and his musical partner Taiseer Elias is a virtuoso on the Arabic lute, the oud.

1. Concert Late Night at the Kokerei Hansa: Bach Remix

Kokerei Hansa

Hailed as the “reincarnation of Liszt” (Fanfare Magazine), Alexandre Kantorow is the youngest winner of the Gilmore Artist Award—one of the world’s most prestigious piano prizes. Don’t miss this rare opportunity to experience Kantorow’s artistry, sensitivity, and technical prowess on full display. Please note: the NSO does not perform on this program.

NSO Presents: Alexandre Kantorow

Kennedy Center

At the centre of the evening are two iconic cycles of piano literature: Johann Sebastian Bach’s Goldberg Variations, a masterpiece of baroque structure and contemplative stillness, and Frédéric Chopin’s 24 Préludes, an emotional mosaic – from floating melancholy to eruptive passion. Xi Zhai, who trained in Shanghai and Frankfurt, has established himself as a subtle interpreter with exceptional expressiveness. His playing, characterised by tonal clarity, stylistic finesse and technical elegance, always focuses on the essentials: revealing the inner content of the music. An evening for fine ears – concentrated, poetic, intense.

Xi Zhai / Piano Recital

Shaun Lee-Chen, acclaimed Concertmaster of the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra, leads WASO in this celebration of the family Bach. Heinrich Bach’s charming Sonata in F sets the stage for this showcase of Baroque elegance before WASO's Acting Principal Oboe, Liz Chee, joins Lee-Chen to perform J.S. Bach’s vibrant Concerto for Violin and Oboe.

Bach to Bach

His Majesty's Theatre

We invite you to the first encounter with this year’s curator, Mahan Esfahani. The harpsichordist, known for his wide-ranging repertoire, has chosen a somewhat more conservative approach for Cycles I and II—yet one that is ambitious, artistically refined, and dramaturgically pure. Over two evenings, he will present Bach’s The Well-Tempered Clavier in its entirety, a cornerstone of the Baroque era, a testament to the art of fugue, and a masterpiece of keyboard music.

Czech Chamber Music Society • Mahan Esfahani

Rudolfinum

The re-enactment of the Passion and Crucifixion of Christ at Easter has always been an occasion for a special musical arrangement. In Leipzig, too, Johann Sebastian Bach, who as the newly appointed "Director of Music" was officially responsible for the music in the city's churches, was expected to come up with something for this purpose. Bach fulfilled this task at his very first Easter in his new position: with the performance of his setting of the Passion story based on the words of the Gospel of John on Good Friday of 1724.

2nd Philharmonic Concert

Konzerthaus Dortmund

For her seventh solo recital with PCMS, British pianist Imogen Cooper returns to Perelman Theater for an evening of works that showcases her stunning virtuosity, graceful lyricism, and poetic interpretations. Among the finest interpreters of the Classical and Romantic repertoire, Cooper presents a recital that includes both sets of Schubert’s impromptus—eight “Poems in Sound” that are flowing, evocative, and reflective of the rhythms of the heart and soul of life itself.

Imogen Cooper, piano

Bach Cantata Series

Dorota Anderszewska, Florentza Nicola, and Alexandre Dmitriev, musicians of the Orchestre National Montpellier Occitanie, perform Johann Sebastian Bach's Goldberg Variations . Violinist Dmitri Sitkovetsky, who arranged this work originally written for harpsichord in 1985, provides string instruments with a sensitive and faithful interpretation of these Variations.

Trio violon alto violoncelle

Temple de l'Eglise protestante unie de France

2018 WINNER OF THE GENEVA INTERNATIONAL MUSIC COMPETITION

Dmitry Shishkin

The Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center

The first cantata of the new season sets us on the well-trodden trajectory from forgiveness to hope. First performed in Leipzig on 15 October 1724 (the 19th Sunday after Trinity), Wo soll ich fliehen hin displays Bach’s fondness for symmetrical structures and also features a rare appearance from the tromba di tirasi – the slide trumpet.

Composer

Johann Sebastian Bach

Events

Upcoming events

Feb 9, 2025 - Jan 11, 2026

3rd Chamber Concert · Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Hamburg

Sep 16, 2025 - Jun 16, 2026

NDR Chamber Concert · Elbphilharmonie

Sep 21, 2025 - May 10, 2026

Chamber Concert / Hamburg Philharmonic State Orchestra · Elbphilharmonie

Nov 10, 2025 - Feb 19, 2026

The Olympic Concert / Kit Armstrong / Jan Caeyers · Elbphilharmonie

Dec 6, 2025

Sabine Meyer / Alloy Quintet · Elbphilharmonie

Past events

Dec 4, 2025

James Lisney – A Musical Offering · The Stoller Hall

Dec 2, 2025

Collegium Musicum · Eastman School of Music

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