The members of the international ensemble ALTERA PARS (which translates as “The Other Side”) come from Germany, Poland, Hungary and Russia and are active in musicology in addition to being leading players in European period instrument orchestras. Our ensemble is highly adaptable and versatile; with various grouping from duos up to a chamber orchestra. As the name suggests, alongside the 'usual' repertoire of an early music ensemble, Altera Pars is dedicated to other forgotten corners of music history, committing ourselves to reviving lost works and playing rarely performed chamber music.
In recent years our musicians have been working intensively on a forgotten jewel in music history; the music of German composers in Russia. The first CD of this series Les Barbares Galantes was widely acclaimed by the public, on radio and by the international press.
Since its foundation (2018), the ensemble has been warmly received at renowned festivals such as Telemann Festspiele (Magdeburg), Earlmusic Festival Tallinn feat Reval (Estonia), Zamus Early Music Festival (Cologne), Rotterdam Festival (The Netherlands), and also for various concert series’ in Oberschützen (Austria), Leer and Hamburg. Additionally, Altera Pars organized a five-part concert series in the renowned hall of Oldenburg Palace where we presented some innovative programs of re-discovered early music not heard in our time. The ensemble has based itself in Cologne since 2020.