La Cetra

The Innsbrucker Festwochen opens its 50th anniversary with festive music: the ensemble La Cetra, a leading light in the early music scene, provides a glamorous start. Originally founded by a group of students, the ensemble – like the festival itself, which grew out of a summer academy – reflects the idea of learning and growth.

The focus of the evening is the ‘La Cetra’ collection by Giovanni Legrenzi, whose 400th birthday will be celebrated in 2026 and after whom the ensemble is named. In a chamber setting, the Basel-based musicians create a vivid dialogue between four violins and an obbligato bass – festive, colourful, and glowing with Baroque brilliance.

What unfolds is a journey through time and across cultures, where the splendour of Venetian sound meets the grandeur of the Viennese imperial court, and the transition from the early to the high Baroque becomes perceptible in the music itself.