THE BALTHASAR NEUMANN ORCHESTRA

The Balthasar Neumann Orchestra was formed by Thomas Hengelbrock in 1995. As one of the world’s leading orchestras working in the field of historically informed performance practice on period instruments, it repeatedly opens up new perspectives on the music of different eras. Made up of top international players, it is regularly acclaimed in major concert halls and opera houses not only for its interpretations on period instruments but above all for its expressive and uncompromising playing on the very highest level. The Orchestra regularly appears with the Balthasar Neumann Choir, which was similarly founded by Thomas Hengelbrock. It is also committed to encouraging a new generation of musicians and to engaging in intercultural dialogue.

MUSIC AS COMMUNICATION
What does music have to tell us about life and about other human beings? It is this question above all that inspires the Balthasar Neumann Orchestra and its founder and principal conductor Thomas Hengelbrock in their work together. Their attention is focused on the time of the work’s composition and on the instruments that were then in use. The works in the Orchestra’s repertory extend from the early Baroque to the modern period and include not only well-known pieces such as Gluck’s opera Orfeo ed Euridice and Wagner’s Parsifal but also largely forgotten works and others that are being heard for the very first time. The Orchestra’s carefully chosen programmes often go beyond the concert itself since Thomas Hengelbrock is passionate about combining music with other art forms such as dance and literature. This interdisciplinary thinking provides a link between the Balthasar Neumann Orchestra and the man who gave it its name, the pioneering Baroque architect who in his own day created a harmonious union of architecture and other art forms.

ON THE WORLD’S STAGES
The Balthasar Neumann Orchestra makes regular guest appearances in Europe’s leading concert halls, including the Dortmund Konzerthaus, the Hamburg Elbphilharmonie, the Vienna Konzerthaus, BOZAR in Brussels, the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris and the Luxembourg Philharmonie. It has also taken part in opera performances in Baden-Baden, Paris, Aix-en-Provence and Madrid and appeared at the Schleswig-Holstein, Lucerne and Salzburg Festivals. The Balthasar Neumann Orchestra and Balthasar Neumann Choir are also a growing presence in Spain. In Germany they may be heard in Hamburg with their own concert series. In Freiburg they are increasing their presence through their work with the Albert Concerts.