Baroque music never stood still. Musicians travelled, and inspirations sped across 18^th century Europe with all the speed of a Vivaldi concerto. But you don’t need to tell that to Adrian Chandler and La Serenissima – the flamboyant British ensemble that takes its name (and its energy) from Venice, and then adds a triple-shot of energy and flair. Today, they set sail from Venice in the company of Vivaldi, visiting the Germany of Georg Philipp Telemann and enjoying the astonishing, wildly imaginative music of Giuseppe Brescianello – as well as recorder playing like you’ve never heard. Anything’s possible – and then some!

Programme

Telemann – Concerto for flute, strings & continuo in D
Sieber – Sonata for recorder & continuo 
Schreyfogel – Sonata for violin & continuo in E minor
Vivaldi – Concerto for recorder, strings & continuo in F
Telemann – Trio for flute, viola d’amore & continuo in D
Brescianello – Sonata for 2 violins & continuo in B flat
Telemann – Concerto for flute, recorder, strings & continuo in E minor

Performers

La Serenissima 
Tabea Debus Recorders
Katy Bircher Flute
Adrian Chandler Director/Violin

La Serenissima is the UK’s leading exponent of Italian baroque music. Praised for its ‘all-too-rare ability to make one’s pulse race afresh with every new project’ (Gramophone), La Serenissima has uncovered a plethora of neglected music, making it available to all through live performance, recording and outreach. Uniquely, the group’s entire repertoire is edited from source material by founder and violinist, Adrian Chandler OSI.

Established in 1994, La Serenissima is recognised for its outstanding recording catalogue, which is regularly featured on BBC Radio 3, Classic FM and international radio; as well as in worldwide advertising (Beats, 2022) and film (Portrait of a Lady on Fire, 2020). The group has twice won the Gramophone Award for ‘Baroque Instrumental’: for The French Connection (2010) and The Italian Job (2017); La Serenissima topped the UK Classical Chart in 2018 with album Vivaldi x2. 

The ensemble’s growing online following is evidenced by more than 100,000 monthly Spotify listeners; their recording of The Four Seasons has been streamed more than 100 million times. Latest album Forza Azzurri! (released November 2022) was featured on Italian Radio:24 – “No irony, simply the umpteenth demonstration of the love of Adrian Chandler, founder and director of the La Serenissima ensemble, for our country and for our music.”

The group creates digital outreach resources for primary school-aged children and opportunities for young professional instrumentalists from across globe via Emerging Artist Chairs.

La Serenissima has performed throughout the UK and internationally in concert series and festivals including London Festival of Baroque Music, MustonenFest (Estonia), Handel-Festspiele (Germany), Valletta International Baroque Festival (Malta) and International Cervantes Festival (Mexico). The group has given the UK premiere of Brescianello’s opera Tisbe (2018) and the modern premiere of Caldara’s opera Lucio Papirio Dittatore (2019). La Serenissima will be resident at London’s Wigmore Hall during 2024-5.

La Serenissima is proud to have as its Honorary Patron, His Excellency The Italian Ambassador to the UK. 

www.laserenissima.co.uk