Tobias Koch and Andreas Staier have charmed audiences many times with their piano playing. The fact that the two pianists are also good friends made them even more eager to pull up a stool behind their respective fortepianos and present a few seldom-heard gems of Romantic piano repertoire. The pieces they will play include the virtuoso Grand duo pour deux pianofortes, opus 92 Hommage à Händel by Ignaz Moscheles, who dedicated it to another great piano virtuoso from Vienna in the first half of the 19th century: Carl Czerny.

Chopins Rondo in C, opus 73, which he composed while still a student in Warsaw, is also on the programme. Originally intended as a work for piano solo, Chopin arranged it himself as a brilliant composition for two pianos, in which the two instruments constantly and playfully swap roles. With Staier and Koch on stage, you have everything you need for a concert full of fortepiano fireworks.

22 November, 2015 15:00 -- amuz

The young Czech soprano Hana Blažíková, who has been called one of the most exciting voices on the contemporary Baroque scene, will take to the stage at AMUZ in a unique vocal and instrumental encounter with master cornett player Bruce Dickey. In the 16th and 17th centuries, the cornett had something of a magical reputation because of its uncanny ability to imitate the human voice. People at the time were enchanted by its clear, pure sound as well as its agility, expressive range, dynamic flexibility and articulation.

Bruce Dickey asked the renowned Greek composer Calliope Tsoupaki to write a piece em- phasising the similarities between the cornett and the voice. Along with the 17th century works on the programme, you will hear one of the first performances of this new com- position. Hana Blažíková and Bruce Dickey will be joined on stage by leading musicians including Jakob Lindberg, Veronika Skuplik and Kris Verhelst. The piece is breathtaking for the soprano and cornett who literally make music with their breath, but also for you, as a witness to this very special concert.

27 November, 2015 21:00 -- amuz

Paul Dombrecht loves to juxtapose Bachs great works with less familiar repertoire. When Il Fondamento get their hands on them, lesser masters of the Baroque such as J. F. Fasch turn out to be a lot greater than you might think. And great composers such as G. P. Telemann stay great, even in their lesser works. Telemann and Fasch both use the principle of the concerto grosso: in this programme they create a dialogue between the three oboes with the bassoon and the string family.

Oboecondria with Fasch and Telemann will be Paul Dombrechts last appearance as an oboist, although he does intend to continue as the conductor and driving artistic force behind Il Fondamento. For this special farewell concert, he will be flanked by superb fellow oboists Marcel Ponseele and Alfredo Bernardini. It promises to be a unique evening with the three tenors of the Baroque oboe together on one stage!

29 November, 2015 15:00 -- amuz

Brahms wrote two sonatas for cello and piano. The first one was described by the composer as a cello sonata that presents no difficulties for either instrument. Not entirely true, one is tempted to contradict. Thematically the music refers to Bachs Die Kunst der Fuge. Brahms wrote the second cello sonata more than twenty years later. He dedicated it to Robert Hausmann, the German cellist who had popularized the first sonata. Roel Dieltiens and Piet Kuijken present these masterpieces of chamber music in all their original glory. Anyone who remembers the performance of Brahms string sextets by Roel Dieltiens and Ensemble Explorations will know that Dieltiens has all the fire and passion it takes to make Brahms shine.

This concert was originally programmed on 18 December 2014 with France Springuel and Jan Vermeulen, but unfortunately it had to be cancelled. Roel Dieltiens and Piet Kuijken will play the earlier foreseen programme

06 December, 2015 15:00 -- amuz

The instrument that best imitates the human voice is the viol, according to 17th-century music theorist Marin Mersenne. Contemporaries of the legendary French composer and viol virtuoso Marin Marais claimed that he could even make his instrument sing like an angel. He published almost six hundred works for this particularly elegant instrument between 1686 and 1725, even providing a foreword with instructions for playing them on the viol.

The two viol players of A 2 Violes Esgales will play a selection from Maraiss Premier livre de pièces de violes with their son, the lutenist and theorbo player Thomas Dunford. In an edition with a numbered bass, Marais indicated that that the duets were perfectly suited to an accompaniment on the theorbo, as Thomas Dunford will demonstrate at this concert.

13 December, 2015 15:00 -- amuz

Christmas in 17th century France was a time of enthusiastic festivities and popular revelry. A la venue de Noël tells the story of Advent: Marys visit to her cousin Elizabeth and her song of joy after the appearance of the archangel Gabriel announcing that she was pregnant with the son of God. Charpentiers Litanies de la vierge include one of the most beautiful and fiery hymns of thanksgiving that he ever composed. Charpentier had an unrivalled talent for combining exemplary composition with boundless sensuality.

The French Ensemble Correspondances, which includes both singers and instrumentalists, has built up an impressive track record since it was founded in 2008. Focusing on French music of the 17th century, this ensemble led by harpsichordist and organist Sébastien Daucé stands for high-quality, historically informed interpretations.

20 December, 2015 15:00 -- amuz