Baroque in Blue Eckart Runge & Jacques Ammon

• Chick Corea (1941 – 2021): Spain (Latin Paraphrase on "Concierto De Aranjuez" by Joaquin Rodrigo):
• 1 Corea: Spain (Latin Paraphrase on "Concierto De Aranjuez" by Joaquin Rodrigo) 06:27
• George Frideric Handel (1685 - 1759): Larghetto (From Violin Sonata in G Minor, HWV 364b, Arr. for Cello and Piano):
• 2 Handel: Larghetto (From Violin Sonata in G Minor, HWV 364b, Arr. for Cello and Piano) 02:13
• George Gershwin (1898 - 1937): It Ain't Necessarily So (From Porgy and Bess):
• 3 Gershwin: It Ain't Necessarily So (From Porgy and Bess) 03:59
• Christoph Willibald Gluck (1714 - 1787): Ballet (From Orfeo ed Euridice, Arr. for Cello and Piano):
• 4 Gluck: Ballet (From Orfeo ed Euridice, Arr. for Cello and Piano) 04:14
• Biréli Lagrène (b. 1966): Made in France:
• 5 Lagrène: Made in France 03:50
• Lucio Amanti (b. 1977), Antonio Vivaldi (1678 - 1741): Largo & Ballad. Calmo (From Cello Sonata No. 6 & Jazz Sonata No. 1):
• 6 Amanti, Vivaldi: Largo & Ballad. Calmo (From Cello Sonata No. 6 & Jazz Sonata No. 1) 06:05
• Nikolai Kapustin (1937 - 2020): Burlesque, Op. 97:
• 7 Kapustin: Burlesque, Op. 97 03:28
• Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 – 1750): Vivace (From Gamba Sonata G Minor, BWV 1029):
• 8 Bach: Vivace (From Gamba Sonata G Minor, BWV 1029) 04:54
• Heitor Villa-Lobos (1887 - 1959): Aria (From "Bachianas Brasileiras"):
• 9 Villa-Lobos: Aria (From "Bachianas Brasileiras") 06:24
• Johann Sebastian Bach: Adagio (From Gamba Sonata G Minor, BWV 1029):
• 10 Bach: Adagio (From Gamba Sonata G Minor, BWV 1029) 02:54
• Nikolai Kapustin: Nearly Waltz, Op. 98:
• 11 Kapustin: Nearly Waltz, Op. 98 02:57
• Johann Sebastian Bach: Allegro (From Gamba Sonata G Minor, BWV 1029):
• 12 Bach: Allegro (From Gamba Sonata G Minor, BWV 1029) 03:33
• Giovanni Legrenzi (1626 - 1690): Lumi potete piangere (From "La Divisione del Mondo"):
• 13 Legrenzi: Lumi potete piangere (From "La Divisione del Mondo") 04:41
• Astor Piazzolla (1921 - 1992): Milonga del Angel:
• 14 Piazzolla: Milonga del Angel 06:13
• Johann Sebastian Bach: "Ich ruf zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ", BWV 639:
• 15 Bach: "Ich ruf zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ", BWV 639 04:01
• Astor Piazzolla (1921 - 1992): Escualo:
• 16 Piazzolla: Escualo 03:38
• Miles Davis (1926 - 1991): Blue in Green:
• 17 Davis: Blue in Green 04:58
• Total Runtime 01:14:29

Info for Baroque in Blue

On their new album "Baroque in Blue", Eckart Runge & Jacques Ammon explore the field of tension between two musical epochs and genres that are separated by more than 200 years. Baroque and jazz have much more in common than one might think at first glance: walking basso continuo, the joy of spontaneity and, last but not least, the high art of improvisation.

The duo Runge & Ammon has now been around for more than a quarter of a century. The cellist from Berlin and the pianist from Santiago de Chile got together when they were still students in order to experiment with repertoire that goes beyond the limits of what is required, in addition to the compulsory programme of training, competitions and examinations. "Since then, we've actually always done programmes that combine classical music with something else," Runge says of the joint projects. "We came from Piazzolla, moved on to classical tango, then into film music, jazz, pop, but also back to Beethoven. We've always tried to juxtapose genres, partly to shed new light on classical music, but also because we're passionate about exploring other styles and directions, learning new things and finding out about surprising things." Both artists also have their individual careers, Runge among others over three decades as the defining voice of the Artemis Quartet, Ammon as an internationally celebrated soloist and time and again a sought-after chamber music partner, for example with violinist Daniel Hope. This independence is important, because it makes it possible to devote oneself casually in dialogue to music that cannot be found in the canon.

"Baroque in Blue" is the logical continuation of their album "Revolutionary Icons", which combined the musical explosiveness of Beethoven's music with the pop and rock icons Jimi Hendrix, Amy Winehouse, David Bowie and Frank Zappa. Now here they unwind a suite and logical sequence with selected works by Gershwin, Chick Corea, Lucio Amanti or Miles Davis between the movements of the Baroque old masters. They can experiment with the supposed opposites, let the austerity and clarity of Gluck, Handel, Vivaldi, Bach merge into something that meets the baroque idea of music turned towards man, but also lets it grow beyond the original context via the anchors in the present or at least the near past. It is these paths that may run serpentine, but always cross each other in the fun of playing together and an energy that shapes art regardless of epochs.

Eckart Runge, cello
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.