Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin & Xenia Löffler
Biography Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin & Xenia Löffler
Xenia Löffler
Acclaimed for her „effortless virtuosity“ and her „elegant tone, rich in colour and nuances,“ Xenia Löffler studied at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis and the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague.
Since 2001 has held the position of principle oboist with the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, regularly performing as soloist with the orchestra in concerts throughout Europe and around the world. She also appears regularly as a soloist with other renowned ensembles, including the Batzdorfer Hofkapelle, Collegium 1704 in Prague, and the Händel-Festspielorchester in Halle.
Numerous recordings featuring Xenia Löffler as soloist have been released by labels such as Harmonia Mundi France, Soli Deo Gloria, Accent and Supraphon (Diapason d’or). In 1998 she founded the Amphion Wind Octet, with whom she has appeared at international festivals and has recorded nine acclaimed CDs to date.
Xenia Löffler teaches the historical oboe class at the Universität der Künste in Berlin and gives masterclasses in Germany and abroad.
Since 2018 Xenia Löffler is the new artistic director of the renowned international Summer Academy for Early Music in Neuburg an der Donau.
Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin
Founded in Berlin in 1982 and recognized today as one of the world's leading chamber orchestras, the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, or Akamus, enjoys an unprecedented history of success. The ensemble, which performs regularly in Europe's leading musical centers, has toured Asia, North America, and South America. In 2011 Akamus will be playing concerts and operas in nine European countries, as well as make its third tour to the United States and its debut in China.
Ever since the reopening of the Berlin Konzerthaus in 1984, the ensemble has enjoyed its own concert series in Germany’s capital, and since 1994 has been a regular guest at the Berlin Staatsoper Unter den Linden and at the Innsbruck Festival of Early Music. Each year Akamus gives circa 100 concerts, ranging from small chamber works to large-scale symphonic pieces, and performs under the artistic leadership of its concertmasters Midori Seiler, Stephan Mai, Bernhard Forck, and Georg Kallweit.
Numerous guest conductors and soloists have worked with the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin as well. For over 25 years the partnership with the Belgian countertenor and conductor René Jacobs has produced many celebrated opera and oratorio productions. Most recent of these is the release of the recording of Mozart’s opera Magic Flute, which the BBC has hailed as “spine tingling”: “Jacobs is all about excitement and making the most of orchestral detail: the breakneck overture only manages to stay on the rails thanks to stunning playing from the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin.”
The ensemble has also worked with the conductors Marcus Creed, Daniel Reuss, Peter Dijkstra, and Hans-Christoph Rademann, who currently leads the RIAS Kammerchor, as well as with Cecilia Bartoli, Andreas Scholl, Sandrine Piau and Bejun Mehta. Moreover, Akamus has extended its artistic boundaries to work together with the modern dance company Sasha Waltz & Guests for innovative productions of Henry Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas and Medea (music: Pascal Dusapin). And, with its visually dramatic performance of 4 Elements - 4 Seasons, a “staged concert,” Akamus has demonstrated yet again its international reputation for being a creative and innovative ensemble.
The international success of the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin is highlighted by well over a million recordings sold to the public. Recording exclusively for harmonia mundi France since 1994, the ensemble’s CDs have earned many international prizes, including the Grammy Award, the Diapason d'Or, the Cannes Classical Award, the Gramophone Award and the Edison Award. For its DVD production of Purcell's opera Dido and Aeneas with Sasha Waltz & Guests, Akamus received the German Record Critics’ Award in 2009. For its recording of Telemann's Brockespassion, the ensemble was awarded the MIDEM Classical Award 2010 and the Choc de l’Année. In February 2011 the recording of Mozarts Magic Flute was honoured with the German Record Critics' Award.
