Kölner Akademie

24/04/2026

04/04/2026

04/04/2026

𝐊𝐨̈𝐥𝐧𝐞𝐫 𝐀𝐤𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐌𝐢𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐞𝐥 𝐀𝐥𝐞𝐱𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐬 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐉.𝐒. 𝐁𝐚𝐜𝐡: 𝐋𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐧 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐁𝐖𝐕 𝟐𝟑𝟑-𝟐𝟑𝟔 (Pentatone) 📣

Mostly unknown masses from J. S. Bach newly recorded by the Kölner Akademie under its founder, Michael Alexander Willens. Release date today! 🌟

A great opportunity to listen to mostly non-performed religious music at Easter! ✝

🌐 https://www.pentatonemusic.com/product/j-s-bach-lutheran-masses-bwv-233-236/

The Kölner Akademie, under the artistic direction of Michael Alexander Willens, presents J.S. Bach: Lutheran Masses BWV 233-236, a monumental exploration of the composer’s four Kyrie–Gloria Masses. Written in the 1730s, during a period of profound artistic consolidation, these works reveal Bach at his most resourceful. Drawn largely from his finest cantata music, the Masses showcase his unparalleled ability to transform earlier material through refined counterpoint, enriched orchestration, and deep sensitivity to the Latin Ordinary. Long overshadowed by the Mass in B minor, these so-called “Lutheran Masses” emerge here as brilliant creations in their own right, each shaped with architectural clarity: six movements, impeccably balanced between choral grandeur and intimate arias. 🎶

In this cycle, Bach fuses theological tradition with inventive musical craft. Whether reworking festive choruses, expanding expressive arias, or integrating older settings with newly imagined timbres, he elevates the transformation of earlier material into a profound creative process – producing music that feels both familiar and entirely renewed. By gathering the four Masses into a unified artistic vision, The Kölner Akademie illuminates their shared structural features, vibrant instrumentation, and emotional breadth. 🛐

Released physically on 2 standard CDs and digitally on all platforms. 💽

Kölner Akademie
Michael Alexander Willens
PENTATONE



🎨🖌 St. Thomas' Church and School at Leipzig, 1723
© Cover & booklet cover desigen: Marjolein Coenrady (PENTATONE)

24/03/2026

02/03/2026

🎶

15/01/2026

Telemann, Witt and much more! Check out all of our new releases on our website 🎶 📯

14/12/2025

tomorrow in Berlin!

🕎 A Swingin’ Chanukka kommt nach Berlin! ✨🎶

Im Rahmen der 8. Internationalen Tage Jüdischer Musik laden Roman Grinberg, Michael Alexander Willens und das Shvayg Mayn Harts Orchester am Montag, 15. Dezember, zu einem außergewöhnlichen Chanukka-Abend ins Jüdische Gemeindezentrum Fasanenstraße ein.

Freut euch auf neu belebte jiddische Melodien, swingende Arrangements, humorvolle Anekdoten und berührende Einblicke in die Traditionen des Lichterfestes. Ein Abend voller beschwingter voller Chanukka-Lieder auf Hebräisch, Jiddisch und Ladino, die vor der Shoa populär waren! 🕎✨

📅 15. Dezember 2025 · 19:30 Uhr
📍 Jüdisches Gemeindezentrum Fasanenstraße, Berlin
🎟️ Tickets: 12 Euro

14/12/2025

𝐓𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐧 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐳𝐞 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐌𝐢𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐞𝐥 𝐀𝐥𝐞𝐱𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐬! 📣

‘𝑾𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒑𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒍 𝒐𝒇 𝑴𝒂𝒈𝒅𝒆𝒃𝒖𝒓𝒈 𝒉𝒐𝒏𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒌 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑨𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒏-𝒃𝒐𝒓𝒏 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒕𝒐𝒓 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝑻𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒏'𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒄 𝒐𝒆𝒖𝒗𝒓𝒆,’

said Mayor Simone Borris on Tuesday, explaining the decision. She will present the award to Willens on 14 March 2026 during a ceremony at Magdeburg's Old Town Hall. 🏆

With concerts and CD recordings, particularly of largely unknown vocal compositions for large ensembles, Willens has championed the rediscovery of outstanding works by Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767) in a historically informed manner, thereby significantly boosting Telemann's international reception. 📀💿

Born in Maryland in 1952, Willens first appeared in Magdeburg in 2012 to perform Telemann's St Luke Passion from 1728 with the Cologne Academy Orchestra. The live recording of the concert marked the beginning of a series of Telemann recordings.

The city of Magdeburg has awarded the Georg Philipp Telemann Prize annually since 1987 for outstanding achievements in the interpretation, preservation and research of Telemann's life and work. The award consists of a bronze plaque, a certificate and a cash prize. 💫
Previous winners include trumpeter Ludwig Güttler, conductor Nikolaus Harnoncourt, publishers Bärenreiter and Carus, Thomaskantor Gotthold Schwarz, violinist Elizabeth Wallfisch and, most recently, musicologist Wolfgang Hirschmann.

Kölner Akademie
Telemann-Zentrum Magdeburg



🌐Kölner Akademie: https://koelnerakademie.de/
🌐Telemann Zentrum Magdeburg: https://telemann.de/

©📸 Fotoatelier Hermann