French violinist Amandine Beyer, winner of the prestigious French award Diapason d’Or de l’année, will present the less frequent compositions from Vivaldi’s concert work with her ensemble Gli Incogniti, including the Violin Concerto in E minor RV 278, which is considered to be one of the most admirable compositions Vivaldi has created in this genre by many Vivaldi researchers. In addition, this work hides a connection to the Czech lands, as it was most likely created around 1730 during Vivaldi’s trip to Bohemia. Although it is stored in Torino, it was written on the same kind of paper on which the lute sonatas for Jan Josef z Wrtby (John Joseph from Wrtba) were composed. Performed by Amandine Beyer, whose performances “carry the listeners off the beaten path, tickle their imagination, cling to their dreams and bring feelings of happiness and joy”, we can look forward to an experience that will belong to the highlights of the 2021 festival.

Amandine Beyer

Amandine Beyer has been an unmissable figure and a performance role model in the field of baroque music for many years. Her recording of Sonatas and Partitas by Johann Sebastian Bach from 2012 has won many international awards – Diapason d’Or, Editor’s Choice of Gramophone magazine, Choc de Classica de l’année, Prix Académie Charles Cross and others. She divides her time between several diverse ensembles: duo with Pierre Hantai, Les Cornets Noirs, specializing in Italian and German music of the 16th and 17th centuries, Kitgut Quartet, string quartet playing the early musical instruments, and Gli Incogniti, which she founded in 2006 and with which she also has been given the largest number of awards. Additionally, another passion of hers is teaching. Since 2010, she has been working at Schola Cantorum Basiliensis in Switzerland and Escola Superior de Música e Artes do Espectáculo (ESMAE) in Porto. Furthermore, she is leading the master classes around the world regularly (France, Taiwan, Brazil, Italy, Spain, USA, Canada). “Is it still possible to hear the unprecedented on Vivaldi’s recordings? At this dazzling, extrovert collection of concerts for two violins for sure. Like a tennis match. Both protagonists throw figures, rhythms and phrases over the net with increasing enthusiasm and intensity.” These are the words that have been said by Nicholas Kenyon for the British Guardian in 2016 in regards of the recording of Vivaldi’s concerts by Gli Incogniti, Amandine Beyer and Giuliano Carmignola. If we stick to this terminology, then we would get a thrilling final at Wimbledon at the festival, albeit in a slightly modified line-up. There is a lot to look forward to!
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Gli Incogniti

The French ensemble Gli Incogniti was founded in 2006 by the violinist Amandine Beyer, who did so together with her friends. She was inspired by the artistic group Accademia degli incogniti (“Academy of the Unknown”), which operated in Venice in the 17th century. The things Gli Incogniti derived from the Venetian ensemble is not only its name, but also a liberal way of thinking, which is reflected in the fondness for all the unknown, sound experiments, the search for a new repertoire and the rediscovery of “classics”. Such projects include, for example, The Six Brandenburg Concertos in collaboration with the dance group Rosas and the B’rock Orchestra, which have celebrated success in Berlin, New York, Paris, Lisbon and Hong Kong. The top quality of the ensemble is supported by concerts at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in Paris, Wigmore Hall in London, Oji Hall in Tokyo or at international festivals in Boston, Bergen, Monte-Carlo, Montpellier and Ile-de-France. The ensemble has recorded fifteen CDs which have won many prestigious prizes: Gramophone Prize, BBC Musical Choice, Diapason d’Or, Preis der deutschen Schallpattenkritik and many others. The recordings of the compositions by Antonio Vivaldi – Le Quattro Stagioni for Zig-Zag Territoires and Il Teatro alla moda for Harmonia Mundi – are the most successful. For Gramophone, Lindsay Kemp has aptly defined the artistic attitudes of the ensemble: “Every song on this recording is a drama full of characters that come, lead monologues, enter into conversations.” Since 2017, Gli Incogniti’s activities include the Academy programme for young people interested in the early music performance and a recent novelty of the sympathetic membership in the ARVIVA association, whose members strive for the most gentle approach to our planet as part of their concert activities. Gli Incogniti is supported by DRAC Nouvelle-Aquitaine and Nouvelle-Aquitaine region.
 
Amandine Beyer, baroque violin & artistic leader
Yoko Kawakubo & Alba Roca, baroque violin
Marta Páramo, viola
Marco Ceccato, violoncello
Francesco Romano, theorbo
Baldomero Barciela Varela, violone
Anna Fontana, harpsichord
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