Opium Eckart Runge & Jacques Ammon

• George Gershwin (1898 - 1937): An American in Paris (Arr. For Cello and Piano by Jasha Heifetz, Eckart Runge, Jacques Ammon):
• 1 Gershwin: An American in Paris (Arr. For Cello and Piano by Jasha Heifetz, Eckart Runge, Jacques Ammon) 05:25
• Kurt Weill (1900 - 1950): Dreigroschenoper/Marie Galante:
• 2 Weill: Dreigroschenoper/Marie Galante: Die Moritat von Mackie Messer/Youkali - Tango Habanera (Arr. For Cello and Piano by Wolf Kerschek, Eckart Runge, Jacques Ammon) 05:48
• Hanns Eisler (1898 - 1962): An den kleinen Radioapparat (Arr. For Cello and Piano by Eckart Runge, Jacques Ammon):
• 3 Eisler: An den kleinen Radioapparat (Arr. For Cello and Piano by Eckart Runge, Jacques Ammon) 02:43
• Johnny Klimek (b. 1962), Tom Tykwer (b. 1965): Babylon Berlin-Suite (Arr. For Cello and Piano by Eckart Runge, Jacques Ammon):
• 4 Klimek, Tykwer: Babylon Berlin-Suite (Arr. For Cello and Piano by Eckart Runge, Jacques Ammon): I. Allein 03:15
• 5 Klimek, Tykwer: Babylon Berlin-Suite (Arr. For Cello and Piano by Eckart Runge, Jacques Ammon): II. Fuge 02:06
• 6 Klimek, Tykwer: Babylon Berlin-Suite (Arr. For Cello and Piano by Eckart Runge, Jacques Ammon): III. Schicksal 02:45
• 7 Klimek, Tykwer: Babylon Berlin-Suite (Arr. For Cello and Piano by Eckart Runge, Jacques Ammon): IV. Ein Tag wie Gold 03:46
• Erich Wolfgang Korngold (1897 - 1957): Schneeglöckchen, Op. 9:
• 8 Korngold: Schneeglöckchen, Op. 9: No. 1 (Arr. For Cello and Piano by Eckart Runge, Jacques Ammon) 03:09
• Versuchung, Op. 18:
• 9 Korngold: Versuchung, Op. 18: No. 3 (Arr. For Cello and Piano by Eckart Runge, Jacques Ammon) 02:32
• Ernest Bloch (1880 - 1959): From Jewish Life, B. 54 for Cello and Piano:
• 10 Bloch: From Jewish Life, B. 54 for Cello and Piano: I. Prayer 04:12
• 11 Bloch: From Jewish Life, B. 54 for Cello and Piano: II. Supplication 03:20
• 12 Bloch: From Jewish Life, B. 54 for Cello and Piano: III. Jewish Song 02:50
• Paul Hindemith (1895 - 1963): Capriccio für Cello und Klavier, Op. 8:
• 13 Hindemith: Capriccio für Cello und Klavier, Op. 8 03:01
• Gustav Mahler (1860 - 1911): Rückert Lieder:
• 14 Mahler: Rückert Lieder: Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen, GMW 41 (Arr. For Cello and Piano by Eckart Runge, Jacques Ammon) 06:27
• Maurice Ravel (1875 - 1937): Violin Sonata No. 2:
• 15 Ravel: Violin Sonata No. 2: II. Blues (Arr. For Cello and Piano by Eckart Runge, Jacques Ammon) 05:25
• Pièce en forme de habanera (Arr. For Cello and Piano by Eckart Runge, Jacques Ammon):
• 16 Ravel: Pièce en forme de habanera (Arr. For Cello and Piano by Eckart Runge, Jacques Ammon) 03:12
• Germaine Tailleferre (1892 - 1983): Berceuse (Arr. For Cello and Piano by Eckart Runge, Jacques Ammon):
• 17 Tailleferre: Berceuse (Arr. For Cello and Piano by Eckart Runge, Jacques Ammon) 02:03
• Erik Satie (1866 - 1925): Gymnopédie I (Arr. For Cello and Piano by Eckart Runge, Jacques Ammon):
• 18 Satie: Gymnopédie I (Arr. For Cello and Piano by Eckart Runge, Jacques Ammon) 03:05
• Jacob Gadé (1879 - 1963): Jalousie (Arr. For Cello and Piano by Eckart Runge, Jacques Ammon):
• 19 Gadé: Jalousie (Arr. For Cello and Piano by Eckart Runge, Jacques Ammon) 05:58
• Total Runtime 01:11:02

Info for Opium

Between the intoxication and shadow of the 1920s: With "OPIUM," Eckart Runge and Jacques Ammon present their third joint album on the Berlin Classics label – a musical kaleidoscope that brings to life the dazzling and dark facets of 1920s Europe. The release on October 10, 2025, not only marks another milestone in the duo's almost 30-year collaboration, but is also the result of a unique artistic symbiosis, which culminated in their adaptation of the soundtrack for the award-winning TV series "Babylon Berlin."

The new album "OPIUM" is a homage to the "Roaring Twenties" – a time characterized by optimism, intoxicating joie de vivre, and artistic innovation, but also by social tensions and dark harbingers of upheaval. The album's music is directly connected to the TV series "Babylon Berlin," for which Runge and Ammon arranged and recorded the soundtrack for the second through fourth seasons. Their expertise in jazz, tango, and the music of the 1920s made them ideal partners for director Tom Tykwer, who brought the duo not only into the studio but also in front of the camera: In one of the legendary bar scenes from the final season, both musicians can be seen as part of the vibrant nightlife of "Babylon Berlin."

Eckart Runge, violoncello
Jacques Ammon, piano

The duo Eckart Runge & Jacques Ammon
celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, emerged from a shared passion for chamber music exploring the boundaries of jazz, tango, rock, theater, and film music. The two musicians regularly perform in major concert series and festivals, as well as in clubs in Europe, Asia, the USA, and South America.

In 2019, 2021, and 2022, director Tom Tykwer invited the duo to record the soundtrack for the award-winning TV series Babylon Berlin. Starting in 2024, Eckart Runge & Jacques Ammon will present their own concert series as 'Artists in Residence' at the Konzerthaus Berlin.

Since 2021, the duo has worked exclusively with the Berlin Classics/EDEL label. The first album, "Revolutionary Icons," juxtaposes works by Beethoven with revolutionary icons of rock and pop history such as Jimi Hendrix, Frank Zappa, and David Bowie. "Baroque in Blue," an album in which jazz and baroque music enter into dialogue, was released in 2022 and was hailed as a "real coup" (Concerti). The album "Opium," which explores the artistically rich period of the 1920s, is planned for release in 2024.

Eckart Runge
He was the cellist of the Artemis Quartet for thirty years, with whom he performed worldwide and shaped its distinctive profile across all instrumentations. The ensemble's albums, including the Beethoven Complete Recording, have won multiple Diapason d'Or awards, the Gramophone Award, and four ECH0 Klassik awards.

In 2019, Eckart Runge decided to pursue his own artistic path and dedicate himself to his own artistic projects.

His solo debut album, the world premiere recording of Nikolai Kapustin's jazzy Cello Concerto Op. 85 and Alfred Schnittke's Cello Concerto No. 1 with the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, was awarded the 2021 German Record Critics' Annual Prize. Eckart Runge will present and curate various programs as an artist in residence at BASF Ludwigshafen and the Bremen Philharmonic Society in the coming seasons.

From 2005 to 2023, he shared his experience as a professor at the Berlin University of the Arts and at the Chapelle de la Reine Elisabeth in Brussels. In 2023, he accepted a position as professor of chamber music at the Robert Schumann Hochschule Düsseldorf.

Eckart Runge plays a rare cello from Cremona, made in 1595 by the brothers Hieronymus and Antonio Amati, generously loaned to him by Merito String Instrument Trust Vienna.

Jacques Ammon
Born in Santiago de Chile to German-Chilean parents, Jacques Ammon first attracted attention in 1989 as a first-prize winner of the International Claudio Arrau Piano Competition.

In addition to his duo with Eckart Runge, he regularly plays with violinist Daniel Hope. This collaboration has resulted in several albums on the Deutsche Grammophon label. Since 2015, Jacques Ammon has been a professor of piano at the Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy Academy of Music and Theatre in Leipzig.

This album contains no booklet.