eckart runge . cello

As a soloist, chamber musician, visionary and teacher, Eckart Runge has establishes himself as one of the most versatile cellists of his generation.

Three decades Eckart Runge marked the characteristic profile of the Artemis Quartet, with which he performed in major concert series and festivals worldwide. And – and vice versa the quartet marked him: he got to the bottom of the great, complex quartet literature which has become a part of his musical personality. Albums, since 2005 exclusively for Warner/Erato have been granted numerous awards such as the Grammophone Award, the ECHO-Klassik and the Diapason d’Or.

As of 2019 Eckart Runge decided to leave the quartet and endeavour for new artistic challenges, persuing his solo-projects and above all, his passion of presenting programs that converge varied musical genres and art forms, such as classical, jazz, rock-pop and film music, also to reach out to younger and wider audiences, for chamber music presented in a new contemporary way.

Since 25 years, his Duo Runge&Ammon performs these programs in festivals, series and clubs alike, across Europe, the USA, South-America and Asia. In 2021 the Duo released an album ‘Revolutionary Icons’, exploring Beethoven in the reflexion of similarly radical icons of rock-pop-jazz like Jimi Hendrix, Frank Zappa and Miles Davis on the Berlin Classics label. 2022 a new album ‘Baroque in Blue’, a dialogue of baroque and jazz-inspired compositions will follow.

Eckart’s first solo-album with the radio orchestra Berlin (RSB), released in 2020, featuring the world premiere recording of Nikolai Kapustin’s jazzy cello concerto op. 85 as well as the passionate 1st concerto by Alfred Schnittke was awarded the prestigious ‘Prize of German Music Critics. 

Teaming up with the renowned Italian Quartetto di Cremona, an album with the famous Schubert quintet, was released in spring of 2019, as well as the ‘Souvenir de Florence’ on the ensemble’s latest album ‘Italian Postcards’. The younger Korean Esmé-Quartet and German Aris Quartett are also among his frequent partners. 

Eckart Runge plays a beautiful cello made by the brothers Hieronymus and Antonio Amati in Cremona in 1595, a generous loan of Merito String Instrument Trust Vienna.

Born in Heidelberg, Eckart Runge studied with Edmond Baert in Brussels and David Geringas in Lübeck. Further artistic inspirations include the Alban Berg Quartet Alfred Brendel, Walter Levin, Boris Pergamenschikow, and György Kurtag. Several awards in music-competitions such as Premio Stradivari Cremona, the Concours International de Musique de Genève and ARD Music Competition Munich initiated his active international career on stage.

As a professor at the Robert Schumann Hochschule in Düsseldorf as well as on international master classes, he passes on his experience to students from across the world.

Eckart Runge’s vision of being an artists goes far beyond his his commitments of performing and teaching. He supports Yehudi Menuhin’s Live Music Now, Jeunesses Musicales Germany and youth orchestra projects in South America, as well as Mit-Mach Musik, a social integration project for refugee children.

jacques ammon . piano

Pianist Jacques Ammon, born in Santiago in Chile and from German-Chilean descent, debuted into international recognition with his successes in the international Claudio Arrau Pianocompetition in 1989. Since then he has given many concerts as both soloist and chamber musician in renowned concert halls in Germany and abroad, and has been a regular guest at classical music festivals such as the „Schleswig-Holstein Musikfestival“, the „Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern“ and the „Rheingau Musikfestival“.

Internationally, Jacques Ammon has performed in many countries,
including Austria (Wiener Konzerthaus), France (Chatelet Paris), the Netherlands (Concertgebouw Amsterdam), Great Britain (Wigmore Hall), Spain
(Palau de la Musica), Italy (Borciani-Festival), and Belgium, Finland, Poland, Russia, Japan, Chile, Argentina and the USA. Many of his concerts have been documented by broadcasting companies such as Radio France, BBC London, RBB, NDR, DWR, BR and WDR.

On invitation of the ensemble „The 12 Cellists of the Berlin Philarmonica“ Jacques Ammon got the opportunity to be a musical advisor and arranger for a record (EMI), which in turn got a Grammy nomination and became the winner of the Echo Award.

Back in 1996, Jacques Ammon and cellist Eckart Runge founded their ensemble „Runge&Ammon“. In 2020 they signed exclusively with the label Berlin Classics/Edel and subsequently released three records there. Several other records were also released with the labels Ars Musici and Genuin Classics. The duo Runge&Ammon celebrate their 25-year anniversary in 2021; these long and intensive years of working together have brought them many opportunities worldwide.

Jacques Ammon is also in close collaboration with violinist Daniel Hope, which has borne fruits that are shown through his participation in numerous recordings for Deutsche Grammophon and many other concerts and projects.
In addition to his performing career, Jacques Ammon is also a part of the panels at international competitions and a passionate teacher at music festivals both in Germany and abroad. Some of these include the international chamber music masterclass Jeunesses Musicales in Weikersheim, the Akademie Hohenstaufen, the Hope Music Academy in Schloß Neuhardenberg, the Kronberg Academy, the Krzyzowa Music Festival in Poland, and the Queen Elisabeth Music Kabel in Belgium.

Jacques Ammon became professor for piano at the University of Music and Theatre »Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy« in Leipzig (Germany) in 2014.

the duo

The Duo Runge&Ammon arose from a shared passion for chamber music border crossings around jazz, tango, rock, theater and film music and celebrated its 25th anniversary last year. The two musicians regularly perform in important concert series and festivals as well as in clubs in Europe, Asia, the USA and South America.
 
In 2019 and 2021, director Tom Tykwer invited the duo to record the film music for the award-winning TV series BabylonBerlin. Starting in 2024, Eckart Runge & Jacques Ammon will create their own concert series as 'Artists in Residence' at Konzerthaus Berlin.
 
Since 2021, the duo has been working exclusively with the Berlin Classics/EDEL label. The first album 'Revolutionary Icons' juxtaposes works by Beethoven with revolutionary icons of rock-pop history such as Jimi Hendrix, Frank Zappa and David Bowie. 2022 saw the release of 'Baroque in Blue', an album in which jazz and baroque music enter into dialogue.