About La Serenissima
La Serenissima was formed in 1994 for a performance of Antonio Vivaldi’s La Senna festeggiante (RV 693) and has now firmly established itself as one of the leading exponents of the music of Antonio Vivaldi and his Italian contemporaries.
La Serenissima has been universally applauded by publications such as Gramophone Magazine, The Sunday Times, BBC Music Magazine, Diapason, Fanfare Magazine, American Record Guide, The Independent, The Strad, La Stampa, Gaudisc, Goldberg Magazine and the London Evening Standard for its performances and recordings on the AVIE label. They have made nine recordings to date and received Gramophone Award nominations in 2008, 2009 and 2010. 2009 also saw ‘Vivaldi — The French Connection’ selected for Gramophone Magazine’s Editor’s Choice and in 2010 this record won a Gramophone Award. Their latest recording, ‘Vivaldi — Gods, Emperors & Angels’ was Record of the Week on Classic FM and on US stations WQXR and KDFC. Both albums reached the top ten of the US Billboard (Classical) Charts in 2010.
La Serenissima 2011 / Copyright Benjamin Harte
Whilst works like The Four Seasons form an important part of La Serenissima’s repertoire, La Serenissima pride themselves on bringing works seldom heard to the concert platform, including Vivaldi’s Catone in Utica (RV 705), L’Olimpiade (RV 725), La Fida Ninfa (RV 714), the Concerto fatto per la Solennità della S. Lingua di S. Antonio in Padova, 1712 (RV 212), the two double violin concerti from his manuscript set La Cetra (RV 520 & 526) and arias from La costanza trionfante degl’amori e de gl’odii (RV 706). Rarities by other composers include Albinoni’s Il Nascimento dell’Aurora, and Caldara’s Cantata per la Notte del Santissimo Natale. The 2010-11 season sees La Serenissima give the modern premieres of three works by Vivaldi that have been discovered recently in Britain with two featuring on recordings to be made in 2011.
La Serenissima has appeared at many of the UK’s leading festivals and venues including South Bank Early Music Festival, Chelsea, Cheltenham, Chester, Spitalfields, Warwick, Lichfield and the Beverley Early Music Festivals, York Early Music Festival, Cambridge Summer Music, St George’s Bristol, Snape Maltings, Lufthansa Festival of Baroque Music and London’s Cadogan and Queen Elizabeth Halls. They have also appeared in Italy, Germany, Denmark, Belgium, Mexico, Malta, Ireland and Spain to great acclaim.
Nearly the entire repertoire of La Serenissima is edited by Director Adrian Chandler from manuscript sources, a testament to their commitment and passion for rare and exciting Italian music and a feat which makes them unique amongst other baroque ensembles.
La Serenissima are managed by Rayfield Artists
The Players
- Adrian Chandler : Director, Violin
- Mhairi Lawson : Soprano
- Pamela Thorby : recorder
- Katy Bircher : flute
- Gail Hennessy : oboe
- Peter Whelan : bassoon
- Simon Munday : trumpet
- Sarah Moffatt : violin
- Simon Kodurand : violin
- Sara Deborah Struntz : violin
- Cecilia Bernardini : violin
- Malgosia Ziemkiewicz : viola
- Peter Collyer : viola
- Gareth Deats : cello
- Eligio Luis Quinteiro : theorbo
- James Johnstone : keyboards
- Joseph McHardy : keyboards
- Robert Howarth : keyboards
Recent News
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La Serenissima present Vivaldi’s L’Olimpiade
Posted : April 13th, 2012 -
Take a Tour round Venice with La Serenissima
Posted : November 18th, 2011
Upcoming Concerts
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Vivaldi — L’Olimpiade (concert version): London -
Vivaldi — The French Connection 2 / The Four Seasons: Beverley - View the Concert Diary
