Music – and a café mélange on the side? Typical coffee-house culture in Leipzig in the eighteenth century! The «Zimmermannische Caffe-Haus» in the Katharinenstraße hosted the local collegium musicum at least weekly, and patrons could feast on music as well as food and drink. This made for an extremely lively establishment. Johann Sebastian Bach, who took over the ensemble some years later, composed his festive orchestral suites for this purpose. Under the baton of Alessandro De Machi the Tonkunstler will perform the first and third suites (the latter especially popular because of its dreamy «Air»). An atmosphere of refinement will be created in the traditional Grafenegg Christmas concerts by a selection of Bach’s vocal works, for example the cantata «Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen» («Shout for joy to God in all lands»). This features not only a brilliant solo trumpet part but also the jubilant voice of virtuoso soprano Anna Lucia Richter.

Why not use your concert ticket for a free entrance to Grafenegg's christmas fair on the same evening? We invite you to regional culinarics, tasty delicacies and handcrafted art!

We are happy to announce that the Artistic Director of the Festwochen der Alten Musik in Innsbruck, Alessandro De Marchi, will conduct this concert instead of Diego Fasolis.