Led by Ara Guzelimian

Bach portrait, Thomaskirche, Leipzig, photo. © Bednorz Images/Bridgeman Images

Encounter II: Leipzig and Berlin

Led by Ara Guzelimian

Leipzig catalyzed arguably the greatest corpus in Western music history, as J. S. Bach’s music directorship in that city produced the St. Matthew Passion, Mass in b minor, and sheaves of chamber and orchestral works that remain vital to the repertoire. Bach’s greatest champion in the following century, Felix Mendelssohn, added to Leipzig’s proud musical tradition, establishing a conservatory and building its orchestra into one of the world’s finest. Meanwhile, one hundred miles to the north, a succession of Prussian monarchs received the likes of Bach, Mozart, and Beethoven, fueling Berlin’s rise to equal cultural significance. For this summer’s second Encounter, Ara Guzelimian charts the ascendancy of Germany’s twin musical epicenters.