20 years of Café Zimmermann

In 1999, the violinist Pablo Valetti and the harpsichordist Céline Frisch founded one of the most dynamic orchestras of the baroque French new wave. This year, the renowned ensemble celebrates its 20^th anniversary with a composer upon whom it has built its reputation. A landmark of Leipzig in the 18^th century, the Café Zimmermann was the privileged meeting place of coffee and music aficionados. There, one would regularly find the Collegium Musicum conducted by Johann Sebastian Bach. For this clientele of highly discerning tastes, one must know how to vary and multiply the delights, be they caffeinated or harmonic. This is the challenge taken up by the Collegium’s worthy successors, through a bouquet of suites for orchestra and various Brandenburg and other concertos, deploying the full instrumental palette of the composer.