Ars Antiqua Austria

Name: Ars Antiqua Austria - Brusselslife.be
Start: 2018-12-04T00:00:00
End: 2018-12-04T00:00:00

04 Dec 2018 - 04 Dec 2018

Biber der Zigeunergeiger

Venue
Palais des Académies - 1 Rue Ducale 1000

Focussing on the music of your ‘heimat’ or homeland is an inherent desire when you come from Austria. Ars Antiqua Austria, the ensemble conducted by the virtuoso violinist Gunar Letzbor, has been doing this for almost 30 years with a passion that remains undiminished. Letzbor fell under the spell of the eccentric Heinrich Ignaz von Biber. Biber was one of the first to dare to include colourful virtuoso elements of Romani music in his ‘serious’ music. But Biber also liked a fine harmony and brand new sounds. During this concert you will also hear the Sonata Rapresentativa, a work of animal sounds (on the violin!) that Biber wrote for an eminent archbishop. Letzbor also draws on the work of those who inspired and succeeded the exceptional Biber. Listen to the playlist "Early Music" on Spotify

Palais des Académies

1 Rue Ducale 1000

The palace of the Academies was originally built for the Prince of Orange between 1823 and 1825. The Prince will reside there until Belgium’s independence in 1830. Architect Charles Vander Straeten was tasked with the design of the structure and took his inspiration from the theories of French architect Jean-Nicolas-Louis Durand, who extolled the use of a very simple Neoclassical style. Indeed, the strict symmetry, the understated relief of the façade, the harmonious order and elegant three-colored tones of the materials all contribute to make this building a perfect example of this purist style. After 12 years of sequestration, the palace came into the possession of the state who decided to offer it, in 1853, to the future king Léopold II. But the king never lived there. In 1862, the place is transformed into a museum of Modern Art. Consideration was then given to turning the building into a museum of modern art. It was, ultimately, the Royal Academy of Science and Arts and the Royal Academy of Medicine which took up residence in the building in 1876. The palace was decorated and fitted out following the design of Tilman-François Suys between 1825 and 1828.