The Wallfisch Band

The Wallfisch Band is an outstanding and unique new international periodinstrument ensemble directed by its founder, the celebrated baroque and classical violinist Elizabeth Wallfisch.

The Wallfisch Band provides an exciting, sustainable platform for young players to showcase and develop their skills. Uniting young instrumentalists with seasoned international professionals, The Wallfisch Band focuses on repertoire from the early Baroque to the late Classical eras. The ensemble made its debut in 2008 in the Lufthansa Festival of Baroque Music in London, and in the coming seasons is scheduled to give concerts around the UK, Germany, Turkey, New Zealand and Australia.

The Wallfisch Band

Giving concerts at the highest professional level, The Wallfisch Band is principally an exciting professional-development initiative. Elizabeth Wallfisch invites younger players to participate in the Wallfisch Band’s projects, based on her own experience and on the recommendation of her peers in the profession and at conservatoires around the world. The group affords an unparalleled opportunity for gifted young period instrumentalists, either in the advanced stages of their studies or at the beginning of their professional careers, to participate at the highest level of solo, ensemble and orchestral playing in a professional rehearsal, concert and touring environment.

The ensemble provides a valuable opportunity for younger players to work intensively alongside the Early Music world’s most prestigious international artists. For the ensemble’s debut in the Lufthansa Festival, young players from Germany, Finland, Holland and the UK were invited to perform with such renowned musicians as the cellist Jaap ter Linden, double bass player Margaret Urquhart and violinist Susan Carpenter-Jacobs. Future projects will include programmes guest-conducted by Bruno Weil and the legendary Gustav Leonhardt.

The structure and working method of the ensemble presents a realistic possibility of partnership/residency with venues, conservatories, promoters and festivals as a sustainable project. The model for this is the partnership being forged with Chamber Music New Zealand in May 2010, when young players from New Zealand and Australia will work with Elizabeth and her colleagues in Auckland and subsequently tour the country.

The Wallfisch Band will soon record its debut CD, of Telemann Violin Overtures, for the German label CPO. Sessions will take place in France in February 2009.

The faces on stage reveal at once the highest concentration and almost unrestrained delight in playing, creating a wonderful balance between care for accurate ensemble and spirited flow of the music. - Neuberger Nachrichten