Telemann 360°

“My name is Georg Philipp Telemann, and I am a composer, A POET, A PUBLISHER AND a gardener.”

the first project of Tempesta’s new Focus series

This fall, (re)discover baroque Germany’s favorite composer, Georg Philipp Telemann (168–1767), through ear-opening performances of orchestral and chamber music, a mixed-discipline talkshow, and pop-up events in Philadelphia gardens, pubs, museums and boats that will put the depth and breadth of baroque Germany’s most revered composer on full display. Explore surprising connections of Telemann’s time in the 18th-century to today’s Philadelphia. Hear modern premiere performances of recent Telemann rediscoveries. Try your hand on printing. Join us on a Telemann cruise down the river to Bartram’s Garden. Or simply enjoy a specially brewed Telemann lager.

Tempesta Focus projects are ‘deep dives’ that go beyond the 17th-and 18th-century music we perform. Each project explores relevant contexts and contemporary connections, presenting them in engaging, hands-on and investigative ways.

Blog Post: Who was Georg Philipp Telemann?

COMPOSER

Telemann, whose music was admired in his lifetime in every corner of Europe and whom contemporaries called “the peerless master”, is making a grand new entrance in Philadelphia during Telemann 360º. Tempesta performs Telemann’s rarely heard concerti-suites for orchestra, quartets and trios from the libraries of his most discerning friends and peers, plus some fresh rediscoveries, one of which was performed in colonial Pennsylvania during Telemann’s lifetime! Read more and find concerts and music-themed events across town.

PUBLISHER

In early 18th-century Germany, music publishing was an industry in decline. Music was expensive to print and distribution networks were limited, leading to high sales prices. Many musicians preferred to copy things out by hand, creating informal “file-sharing” networks and undercutting the sales of the publishers even more. Following the example of industry innovators in Amsterdam and London, Telemann adopted newer printing techniques and better distribution networks, earning himself a fortune selling his music throughout Europe and to the New World. Read more and find printing- and book-themed events across town.

GARDENER

“I am insatiable where hyacinths and tulips are concerned, greedy for ranunculi, and especially for anemones,” wrote Telemann in a letter. Find flowers and plants from his 1742 Hamburg flower garden, plus scores of others he traded with the leading botanists of Europe and possibly even the New World, in fine Philadelphia gardens this summer and fall. Read more and find garden-themed events across town.

Poet

A brilliant and prolific writer himself, Telemann embraced avant-garde poetry and did a lot to support young poets late in his own life. He favored the new poetry by Brockes, Klopstock and Ramler, and commissioned them for his vocal works. “Untranslatables” explores connections of words found in this poetry, high jinks of translation and some new poetry, too. Read more and find poetry-themed events across town.

Telemann 360° Collaborators:

Bartram’s Garden | Temple University Boyer College of Music & Dance | Independence Seaport Museum | Patriot Harbor Lines | Philadelphia Landmarks: Hill-Physick House & Powel House | German Society of Pennsylvania | Kislak Center at University of Pennsylvania | German Literature Department at the University of Pennsylvania | American Philosophical Society Museum | Academy of Natural Sciences | Museum of the American Revolution | St. Benjamin’s Brewing Company | Creative Writing Department at the University of the Arts | Benjamin Franklin Print Shop | Philadelphia Free Library