Avi Avital at Philharmonie Berlin

About the Event

For Avi Avital, the mandolin is more than just an instrument: it is his tool with which he conquers continents, eras and cultural worlds. No matter what music he plays, Avital always pushes the boundaries of sound possibilities. “There can be no taboos in music,” says the Israeli virtuoso. He tirelessly searches for the expansion of the mandolin repertoire, its roots and its potential.

On this concert evening, he returns to the origins of the mandolin. Together with the renowned Venice Baroque Orchestra, he travels to baroque Italy, in particular to the musical world of Antonio Vivaldi, whose mandolin concertos are the “Old Testament” for Avital. Back then, Vivaldi knew how to turn churches into theaters for his sound spectacles. “The exciting thing about that time was the tremendous freedom it gave the musicians,” enthuses Avi Avital. He takes this freedom here too and “ba‐rocks” the stage with an effervescent, gripping and taboo‐free reinterpretation of the “Four Seasons”.