Jakob Lehmann is a conductor for whom stylistic awareness and historically informed performance are the pillars of emotionally sincere and energetic interpretations. His dual aims of fidelity to the composer’s intentions with their direct conveyance to his modern audiences guide his diverse musical activities. He regards as one of his main objectives the collaborative convergence of historically informed performance styles with more traditional approaches.

Jakob Lehmann works both with orchestras such as Wiener Symphoniker, Tonkünstler Orchester, Beethoven Orchester Bonn, Bochumer Symphoniker, and Brandenburger Symphoniker, as well as period instrument groups such as Concerto Köln, Orchestra of the 18th Century, {OH!} - Orkiestra Historyczna, La Banda Storica Bern, and the Australian Romantic & Classical Orchestra. 

He is the Artistic Director of Eroica Berlin, a chamber orchestra he founded in 2015 and which performed at Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie for the first time in 2020. The group consists of young musicians from Berlin and focuses on translating the impulses and inspirations from period performance to modern instruments.

The music of Gioachino Rossini and the Bel  canto period is a field in which Jakob Lehmann is particularly active, both as a passionate opera conductor as well as in his research, and he has served as Associate Artistic Director of New York based Belcanto festival Teatro Nuovo since 2019. His conducting in this repertoire has been described by the press as “a revelation,” “extraordinary,” and “striking”. Recent opera productions include Rossini’s “Il barbiere di Siviglia” for North Carolina Opera (directed by Francesca Zambello), Donizetti’s “Poliuto” and Bellini’s “I Capuleti e i Montecchi” for Teatro Nuovo, and Mozart’s “Idomeneo” for Opéra National de Lorraine. 

As a presenter, lecturer, and coach for the topics of Romantic performance practice and the Bel canto style, he is working with institutions such as the Juilliard School in New York, the Dutch National Opera Studio, the Royal Conservatory in The Hague, the Hochschule der Künste Bern, the Conservatorio Guido Cantelli in Novara, as well as his Alma Mater, the University of Arts Berlin. In 2023, he was elected as the President of the German Rossini Society and further is a member of the American Rossini Society.

In the 2024/2025 season, he makes his debuts with Brucknerorchester Linz, Les Siècles, Sinfonieorchester Liechtenstein, Orchestra La Scintilla, Collegium Novum Zürich, Wiener Concert-Verein, and Juilliard415, and returns to Vienna’s Tonkünstler Orchester, Concerto Köln, the Orchestra of the 18th Century, North Carolina Opera, La Banda Storica Bern, Teatro Nuovo and Eroica Berlin. 

VÉRONIQUE GENS, soprano

"J’ai vécu une très belle expérience avec Jakob, lors de notre première rencontre, une écoute attentive et une bienveillance rassurante. Il  respire avec le chanteur et lui apporte tout le soutien et l’attention dont il pourrait avoir besoin, un vrai plaisir!"

"I had a very nice experience with Jakob during our first meeting, an attentive listening and a reassuring benevolence. He breathes with the singer and gives them all the support and attention they might need, a real pleasure!"

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WILL CRUTCHFIELD, conductor & musicologist

"The whole premise of Teatro Nuovo would have been impossible without someone like Jakob Lehmann - a leader who knows opera and voices like the back of his hand, knows everything about belcanto performance practice, and is capable of guiding an orchestra in instantaneous response to what is happening on the stage."

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Verdi | Ernani | North Carolina Opera

“It was a different way to experience Grand opera – one that concentrated attention on Verdi’s richly Romantic score….Conductor Jakob Lehmann ensured the large group of musicians sang and played as one, moving the two-and-a-half-hour production along at an engaging pace.” — Cultural Voice of North Carolina

Bellini | I Capuleti e i Montecchi | Teatro Nuovo

“a vital new production…a triumph….Bellini’s passion and intensity were superbly realized by the Teatro Nuovo orchestra and a radiantly voiced ensemble, led by primo violino e capo d’orchestra, Jakob Lehmann…. Lehmann, Teatro Nuovo’s associate artistic director since 2019, rose to Bellini’s pacing and balance challenges. Instead of seeping the music in melancholy, he tapped into the overarching tension and unease of the inevitable double tragedy to help push the narrative forward. Teatro Nuovo always follows a blueprint of the old performance styles, but they encourage experimentation and spontaneity. This was most evident in the overture, which Lehmann took at a dizzying “più mosso” clip. Shifts between pianos and fortes, and rallentandos and accelerandos were gloriously tumultuous and ferocious. Lehmann also knew when to hold back, like fermatas during cantabiles to ensure that principals weren’t bogged down…. From conductor to chorus, exploratory interpretations brought out new perspectives to Bellini’s old, familiar work. For Teatro Nuovo, it is “mission accomplished.” – NJArts.net

“The musical performance of I Capuleti ei Montecchi was of the highest caliber and the historically informed practices allowed us to rediscover unexpected nuances of the opera. …this orchestra was particularly effective in portraying Bellini's most lyrical moments. These passages had a more natural nuance, closer to the purity of the panpipes than to the perfection of a late nineteenth-century orchestra….the opera's bellicose and heated situations were kept bright and sonorous, thanks to the energetic direction of the first violin and de facto conductor Jakob Lehmann.” – Opera Click

“conducting with equal measures of charm and authority…. From the first notes, the audience was transported into a sonic world far removed from that generally experienced in most opera houses. The period instruments’ sonorities were richer, darker and earthier. Trumpets and horns played thrilling calls portending of the strife between the feuding families.” – New York Classical Review

“Leading the orchestra on this evening was Jakob Lehmann who led a a swiftly paced reading with the music always having a forward propulsion. Lehmann balanced the more intimate scenes with subtle and nuanced dynamics and tempi and then there was the explosive moments in the more dramatic scenes as the Act one ensemble and the Act two duet with Tebaldo and Romeo. The overture was also thrilling, getting the opera off to an energetic start.” – Operawire

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CD reviews, Rossini: L'italiana in Algeri, Pan Classics/Note1, Eroica Berlin, May 2024

"Jakob Lehmann clearly sets his own emphasis. His orchestral line-up and instrumentation strives for authenticity...and allows the instrumentalists a degree of improvisational freedom in the solo passages that is usually only granted to the singers. It is particularly striking that the recitatives are accompanied not only by a keyboard instrument, but also by cello, double bass and fortepiano, which provides more potential for interpretation and gives these moments additional weight...The singing of the exclusively young soloists may not always be for purists, but that is not the intention. Rather, the aim is to create maximum liveliness. And they succeed. From the very first minute, the atmosphere tingles, the musical balls fly back and forth at a crazy tempo and the joy of playing is transmitted. There are some veritable discoveries, for example when David Ostrek plays Mustafá with a great deal of comic flair or when Hannah Ludwig lets her headstrong Isabella roar aggressively and carefree, only to immediately soar up to purer heights again...Which brings us back to Stendhal, who said that it is precisely this opera that makes you forget all the misery in the world. Perhaps it is currently enjoying particular popularity because of the increased demand for such forgetting - at any rate, it works perfectly here in all its freshness." -- Musik An Sich

"This is the recording of a turbulent Berlin performance from 2022...The recording conveys a new, fresh view on Rossini of the young generation. Jakob Lehmann's vision of a streamlined, historically informed, but never dogmatically buckled up Rossini buffa is astounding. The ensemble performance impresses and inspires..." -- Radio Drei

“There is enormous musical spontaneity achieved by conductor Jakob Lehmann. Also noteworthy is the historically informed orchestral playing, which is unusual for its dry sharpness and fine chasing, but stands out for its rare richness of detail...The vocal ensemble is young and sings with enthusiasm." -- Pizzicato Lu

“In 2024, it is the turn of Pan Classics to present their version of this buffo favorite by adding to the roster an uncannily spontaneous take. Recorded at a live performance from 2022, it proves unpretentious, as conductorJakob Lehmann and his cast of junior soloists manage to maintain a riveting freshness throughout its two hours and twenty-six minutes of playing time…the cast sings with unending enthusiasm and near faultless precision. David Oštrek, for instance, lends his bass to the role of Mustafà, the focal point of the opera’s comedic action. Unlike some of his predecessors, he does not engage in vocal overacting but keeps his interpretation slender and lean…the directness of Oštrek’s interpretation goes well with the crisp stance adopted by the ensemble of Eroica Berlin. The latter produces the closest to a period sound yet heard on any recording of “L’Italiana,” including the past year’s release from Glossa Music. For example, the use of a fortepiano creates an intriguing soundscape in the recitatives; it is seemingly at odds with the recording tradition by unmasking the music’s historical roots, so to speak. The mezzo Hannah Ludwig sings the part of the title-giving Italian, the sharp-witted Isabella. She displays an extraordinarily mature characterization, thanks to the honeyed tones of her well-rounded instrument which easily adapts to both the agility of coloratura runs and the heavily Romantic lines of the protagonist’s Act two cavatina “Per lui che adoro.”..Conductor Lehmann leads with a swift, yet inspired hand whose brisk tempi powerfully drive the action forward. His relentless enthusiasm make the recording uncompromising in its directness, and thanks to the spontaneity of the soloists it conveys the very thrill of a live performance.” -- OperaWire

“The young conductor Jakob Lehmann seems to be obsessed with Rossini's music. The overture immediately makes you sit up and take notice. There are things here that you have never heard before, because although Lehmann is a friend of historically informed interpretation and follows the original text, he also reads between the lines by consulting early manuscript copies... This leads to astonishing insights that are as exciting as they are enjoyable to listen to. One of the most striking changes compared to conventional recordings is the use of violoncello, double bass and fortepiano in the recitatives - what a difference to the usual “dull” harpsichord!

Lehmann is able to animate the Eroica Berlin orchestra not only to highly inspired playing, but also to a multitude of delicious details that will delight any musical gourmet…The bass-baritone David Ostrek is a powerful Mustafa and Hannah Ludwig can certainly stand up to him with her profound mezzo-soprano. Milos Bulajić masters the difficult role of Lindoro with astonishing success. Polly Ott (Elvira, soprano), Laura Murphy (Zulma, mezzo-soprano), Adam Kutny (Haly, baritone) and Manuel Walser (Taddeo, baritone) form a well-balanced ensemble together with the protagonists.” -- Das Opernglas

“Don't look any further: there are no well-known names in the cast of this new recording of L'Italienne à Alger, but a homogeneous ensemble of young singers, well-versed in the Rossinian style and committed to a renewed approach to the score, where ornamentation, variation, appogiatura and cadenzas are the rule, even in the recitative. The real star of this version is, for once, the orchestra, a mixed ensemble of period and modern instruments, in small formation (32 players, including fortepiano), with three double basses for twelve violins, two violas and two cellos, reinforcing the ensemble's "low" tonality. Added to this is a rich percussion ensemble (alla turca) and the winds - one per section, with the exception of the clarinets, which come in pairs. The recitative itself can no longer be described as dry, since it is accompanied not only by the pianoforte, but also by the cello and one of the double basses, all of which gives an improvisatory feel that adds a great deal of salt to passages that are usually cut, since here the score is given in full according to the critical edition.

While Rossini's work had already been the subject of a number of experiments on period instruments (Cappella Coloniensis and Gabriele Ferro in the 1970s-1980s, Marc Minkowski and Jean-Christophe Spinosi more recently), none had ever gone so far in terms of musicological research, and the result is singularly seductive. At the heart of this astonishing approach is conductor Jakob Lehmann, whose "historically informed" approach has led to a radically new interpretation of Rossini's music, full of freedom, in which the orchestra itself no longer accompanies but really carries the action, with inventive phrasing, a sense of rhythm, accents and lines, and impressive virtuosity in relentless, rigorously precise accelerandi.

We'll savor the lightness of the woodwinds, the varied colors of the brass and, as a bonus, especially in the overture, a play on variations and appogiaturas that completely renews the spirit. It may come as a surprise that this novelty comes to us from Germany, where the Eroica Berlin orchestra is based, with Jakob Lehmann as founding conductor. Among the singers, a first-rate line-up of C clefs stands out, starting with David Oštrek's round, supple Mustafà, followed by Adam Kutny's darker baritone as Haly and Manuel Walser's no less solid Taddeo. Tenor Miloš Bulajić, for all his bravura, with a slightly veiled timbre and backward delivery, stumbles a little on the very high range of Lindoro's entrance aria, but makes up for his limitations in the rest of the role. By contrast, Polly Ott's Elvira and Laura Murphy's Zulma are perfect. In the title role, Hannah Ludwig has to "breaststroke" a little to ensure the extreme low range of this mezzo-contralto tessitura, which is not always in the best taste, but she communicates a lot of character to her dominatrix character with a beautiful central voice, a lot of ease in the treble and very neat cadenzas. Berlin's small Neuer Männerchor (eleven voices) is remarkably poised and homogeneous.

With its entirely reworked orchestration, a rhythm full of surprises and astonishing rebounds, this recording, made on the spot in a small Berlin theater, is certainly not perfect, but it communicates a jubilant sensation that never fails. It gives the impression of constantly rediscovering this little masterpiece of "organized and complete madness" (dixit Stendhal) by a 21-year-old composer, entirely refreshed by new colors and communicative verve. The new Rossini has arrived, and it's an excellent vintage. -- Avant-Scène Opéra

OpusKlassiek (Dutch)

Recensie - Rossini: L'Italiana in Algeri - Eroica Berlin, Jakob Lehmann - OpusKlassiek

Right on the first measurements I was upright. A live recording (from the Delphi Theater in Berlin), a small label, young soloists, a conductor who is not known as Rossini specialist - it was reminiscent of the recordings from the Rossini Festival in Bad Wildbad: fun, sympathetic but not something to have great expectations of. It was different and even became a big surprise! Not only because of the sparkling performances, but mainly because of the way in which conductor Jakob Lehmann and the Eroica Berlin ensemble have handled the score. It soon became clear that terms such as historicizing or authentic approach only indicate how they worked.

The detailed explanation quickly showed that the performances were based on an intensive source study that not only influenced decisions regarding the instruments and the instrumentation, but also - even - even on the basis of old prints - on, for example, the grouping of the instruments. Furthermore, the aim was to authenticate with regard to the composition and style of play of the extensive continuo that accompanies the recitatives, the stylists of both the instrumentalists and the soloists and countless additional details.

Lehmann elaborates on this in his explanatory statement, raising so many things that I let the most important ones follow below:
- Eroica Berlin (no real 'authentic' ensemble) combines modern wood with natural horns and trumpets;
- the percussion is a 'banda turca' with a mezzaluna ('Turkish scales');
- the strings use a historically documented mix of sticks (from baroque to Tourte) and make well-considered use of portamento, battuto, punto d'arco, etc. (single light, fast-adcaping during, among other things, the overture are no sign of beginning 'cd-rot' but modest battuti!);
- historically documented are also various decorations in instrumental soli, including at the beginning of the overture (hobo-solo) and in the introduction to Isabella's 'Per lui che adoro', here in the original version with a cello instead of the usual flute;
- spread of the strings over the entire width of the orchestra pit with the first violins in a long line with the back to the audience and the second violins in a row opposite;
- central to the bin the traditional trio of fortepiano, first cello and first double bass who, as a continuo, have a greater share in the accompaniment of the secco-recitatives than is now customary, while the two remaining double basses are placed at the ends of the box with winds and percussion in a semicircular circle behind the strings; violas and celli are limited to two per section;
- the double basses are authentic, more resonating instruments with only three strings;
- in the original score, the percussion is only mentioned in the overture and the quintet in the second operation, but various copies show that in practice the percussion had a greater share and that last option was also chosen here;
- in the vocals a free use is made of decorations, cadesses and appoggiaturas, but is apart from the later tradition of high notes at the end of arias or ensembles.

The exact influence of these elements separately is difficult to determine, but from the first bars of the overture, in which a playful oboe of the strings is a playful oboe, result is a wonderful musical party. Surprising is the timbre that reminiscences evokes in the overture to Mozart's Entfuhrung (the 'banda turca'!), but after that the opera sounds fresher, clearer, sharperly articulate and especially much more sparkling than I have ever heard. It results in a swirling whole fetched resting points (Lindoro’s subtly varied 'Languir per una bella' has a remarkably dramatic effect here!) and a humor that comes all the way from the music, without imposed 'humorist' effect.

It is striking that in this 'number opera' thanks to the constant, colorful but never overly vivid recitatives the suggestion of single songs is slight. It is as if arias and ensembles are included in an ongoing stream of music that gives the impression of an uncomposed, but homogeneous and closed music drama. And after the sound world evoked by Lehmann and Eroica Berlin, that was the second surprise for me. The always breaking applause at the right moments contributed even to the lively atmosphere of this performance.

The central role of Isabella is of course, a role in which a singer like Marilyn Horne was once unique. However, compared to what we hear here, her rendition sounds a bit like 'playing a role', 'to be a good time', while the Isabella of the vocally less imposing Hannah Ludwig, more in the line of Berganza and Valentini Terrani, more naturally, seems more natural. Not only is the humor less on top, but it also exudes a girlish spontaneity.

Something similar applies - mutatis mutandis - also to the Mustaf of the youthful sounding, nowhere-dlinging bass baritone David Ostrek. From the inflated, inquisted potentate on Italian cleans he makes to a certain extent a credible character that, despite his eye-flaps, seems to be quite sympathetic. (But to be honest: the Mustaph? in the renown renown from Fernando Corena’s renown in the renown of good-nourish!)

The young Milos Bulajic, a vocally flexible and elegant tenor laying robe that reminds me a bit of Luigi Alva, turns out to be an attractive Lindoro and we also hear nice and sung contributions from the bariton Manuel Walser as Taddeo and the equally strikingly tampered Adam Kutny as a remarkable Haly. As Elvira, the initially dumped wife of Mustafa, and her servant Zulma, Polly Ott and Laura Murphy may sound a bit too thin and colorless, but in the ensemble they play well and also on the Neuer Munnerchor Berlin is nothing to criticize.

The recording could have sounded a fraction warmer from me, but balance and clarity contribute to this musical Rossini party that certainly deserves to be followed! The CDs are packaged in a beautiful but simple folding cover and in the booklet we find the explanation in English and German. The libretto was only printed in Italian.

Brucknerhaus Linz, May 2024 - Charles Ives

"In all the works, you can sense the desire to seek out new tonal and formal solutions. The young conductor Jakob Lehmann and his no less young musicians (of Eroica Berlin) realized this perfectly, finely balancing the subtle sound world and at the same time evoking great emotions. An enthusiastic performance that more than did justice to Ives' eccentricity and completely thrilled the audience. An impressive birthday concert for Charles Ives in all respects." - Oberösterreichische Nachrichten

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ROSSINI | Il barbiere di Siviglia | North Carolina Opera

"Conductor Jakob Lehmann kept the pace sprightly while giving his performers plenty of time to make the various characters their own." - Cultural Voice of North Carolina

"Maestro Lehmann’s choices of tempi were quicker than one normally hears in performances of Barber. These choices, first and foremost, set the mood for the opera. In the overture we heard the frenetics that were to come. He eschewed some of the Romantic conventions of wildly fluctuating tempi..., drawn out cadenzas, or some of the flashier interpolations of high notes in the arias...The result was...well paced, exciting, and really served to drive the action." - Triangle Sings

"A Splendid North Carolina Opera Production of Rossini's The Barber of Seville...Jakob Lehmann does a fantastic job conducting the orchestra and graciously acknowledged his musicians each time the audience applauded. The music was performed wonderfully by our marvelous North Carolina Opera Orchestra." - Triangle Review

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CD reviews, "Mozart 1791", Warner Classics, Pierre Génisson, Concerto Köln, fall 2023

​"The pulsating dramatic foundation is provided by the attentively breathing and crisply countering top musicians of Concerto Köln under the strict direction of Jakob Lehmann." - Rondo Magazin

“This disc [is] accompanied so eloquently by Concerto Köln and the young Jakob Lehmann.”- Artamag

[The] very beautiful album “Mozart 1791”, which Pierre Génisson produced with the Concerto Köln, conducted by the excellent Jakob Lehmann." - Concertclassic.com

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"In this game, the most successful movement is undoubtedly the concluding Rondo: Allegro where the liveliness wins over the Concerto Köln, conducted wisely but with great naturalness by Jakob Lehmann."- ConcertoNet.com

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"A beguiling, but also touching performance." - BBC Music Magazine

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"A concerto, then painted in exquisite, subtle pastels, rather than brighter hues." - Gramophone

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MOZART | Idomeneo | Opéra National de Lorraine

"Conductor Jakob Lehmann opts for authenticity. His highly articulate conducting, with its lively, alert string sound, nurtures the drama and supports the stage perfectly." - ResMusica.com

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"The Orchestre de l'Opéra national de Lorraine follows the energetic tempi of conductor Jakob Lehmann, who gives the score its sense of intensity and dramatic urgency, while radiating a confident assurance with a rigorous beat." - Ôlyrix

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"Jakob Lehmann conducts an impeccable Nancy phalanx with finesse and impetuosity." - Operamag.com

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DONIZETTI | Poliuto | Teatro Nuovo

"Teatro Nuovo made a strong case for Poliuto as an opera worthy of dramatic as well as musical rediscovery. Conductor Jakob Lehmann opted for swift tempi and transparent textures that kept the action flowing." - Bachtrack

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"Jakob Lehmann led the period-instrument orchestra with fierce precision and great care for the singers. The orchestra was at audience level, so he and the players were visible. The clarity was remarkable – spicy woodwinds, braying (valveless) horns, and gut strings brought the music forward. More ideally performed bel canto, please." - Classicstoday.com

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"The orchestra’s almost musky timbre made it a versatile collaborator. In the concertato at the end of Act II of “Poliuto,” it complemented rather than competed with the singers, with transparent textures that allowed the mildly lustrous voices to come through...Jakob Lehmann relished accelerating the tempo of concluding allegros and guided the music with such subtlety that even staccatos had shape to them." - New York Times

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"Teatro Nuovo’s production of Donizetti’s Poliuto is a bel canto dream come true...Jakob Lehmann performed [his] duties expertly, in a performance that was as aurally arresting as it was dramatically exciting. There is no pit in the Rose Theater, and the orchestra is practically on the same level as the singers, but balance was never an issue. One of the most musically satisfying scenes came in the Act III finale with Lehmann’s harnessing of soloists, chorus and orchestra to create a complex musical depiction of conflicting emotions. The ensemble functions musically and dramatically much as does the Sextet in Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor, and this performance made one wonder why it is not as equally famous." - SeenAndHeardInternational

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"Jakob Lehmann is an astute musician who leads with power...[he] was a thrill to watch. He’d punch the air hard when the score called for orchestral hits. Pow! He used small cues with the vocalists—wiggles of the fingers, slight hand gestures, and nods. Frenzy seamlessly segued into gracefulness...Tutti passages filled the theater and the soul while muted moments pulled you forward in your seat. Lehmann and his band were as near flawless as could be...Lehmann doesn’t dabble in Bel Canto; it’s his performer, conductor, and researcher specialty. His contract with Teatro Nuovo began in 2019 and was extended through 2025. “Poliuto” showed why." - OperaWire

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"The period-instrument orchestra was authoritatively led by Jakob Lehmann...the orchestra played with verve and flexibility." Wall Street Journal

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"The action didn’t flag for a moment, under the supple conducting of Associate Artistic Director Jakob Lehmann with the exciting and historically accurate orchestra of Teatro Nuovo and a wonderful chorus." - Broadyway World

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"Jakob Lehmann lead Poliuto with skill and dispatch." - Classical Voice America

"Jakob Lehmann made the best possible use of Donizetti's beautiful score, offering a finely historicized reading, refined, with a dynamic pulse and full of energy." - pro ópera

"The conductor Jakob Lehmann brought out the urgency and grandeur of the score." - Opera News

ROSSINI | Maometto secondo | Teatro Nuovo

"With the musical direction of Jakob Lehmann at the podium..., the performance often thrummed with intensity" - Parterre.com

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"The musicians were led by the marvelous Jakob Lehmann...In this performance we experienced the orchestra as a character in the story, not just a support for the singers." - Voce di Meche

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"Lehmann ensured that the orchestra could sound impressively robust without covering the voices." - Musical America

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ROSSINI | L'italiana in Algeri | Eroica Berlin

"The enterprising young outfit Eroica Berlin...is committed to historically informed practice. This encompassed the orchestra's seating plan and the employment of a relatively large cello and double bass section, its members positioned left, middle and right of the orchestra. Secco recitatives were accompanied by an inventive trio of fortepiano, cello and double bass. Great agogic freedom was encouraged throughout, with woodwind principals freely embellishing their solos. Conducting from the fortepiano, Lehmann kept everybody on their collective toes in an effervescent reading of the uncut score. I was pleased to see a particular bête noire of mine addressed: although vocal parts were generously decorated, singers refrained from ending arias or ensembles with attention-grabbing high notes...Much care was taken over the idiomatic shaping of the text, which came across vividly...The fun - and there was lots of it - came, as it should, from the score." - Opera.co.uk

"Bei den vom Ensemble Eroica Berlin unter dem mit Rossini wohlvertrauten Jakob Lehmann organisierten drei Vorstellungen ist es aber auch die spezielle Praxis des Musizierens, die einen spannenden Abend garantiert...Die Musik...klingt präsent und transparent – ungetrübter Genuss der fein ziselierten Details von Rossinis Partitur ist garantiert. Und noch deutlicher hört man die Verzierungen und liebevoll ausgearbeiteten Phrasierungs- und Dynamik-Finessen, denen sich die jungen Musikerinnen und Musiker des Orchesters widmen. Denn Eroica Berlin erhebt den Anspruch, Rossinis Musik historisch informiert aufzuführen. Das sorgt in der Tat für ein frisches, detailreiches, im Vergleich zu üblichen Darbietungen kühleres, brillantes, aber auch luftiges Klangbild... – wie überhaupt die Tutti scharf und kurz gefasst sind und damit einen „lärmigen“ Eindruck von Rossinis Musik nicht aufkommen lassen...Rossinis Musik bekommt dieser Zugang so gut – man höre nur, wie vielgestaltig und harmonisch interessant auf einmal die einleitenden Pizzicati des Preludio wirken –, dass man sich fragt, warum so etwas nicht bei Rossini-Festivals wie Pesaro zur Diskussion gestellt wird." - OnlineMerker

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"Was ich da gestern Abend erlebte..., verschlug mir fast die Sprache! So ein extraordinär vormusizierter Gioachino - so derart raffiniert getrieben und, bei aller frischluftigen Angetriebenheit, nicht minder transparent - war mir bis dato in realo völlig fremd, obgleich ich ihn mir freilich im Geheimen so oder so ähnlich wünschte. Ja und Fakt war, ist und bleibt, dass ausschließlich wohl nur mit solchen Mitteln (Instrumentarium, Art zu musizieren) also unter strikter "Einhaltung" oder Beachtung aktueller Forschungen hinsichtlich historisch informierter Aufführungspraktiken derart bahnbrechende musiziererische Leistungen erst möglich werden; Naganos Rheingold mit Concerto Köln, um nur eines der neuesten und in praxi gelungenen Beispiele zu nennen, sprach/spricht eindeutig und einladend dafür...Lehmann übt also Totalkontrolle aus; ich konnte keine A-Synchronitäten konstatieren. Er nimmt die Gesamtbelegschaft mit und scheint sie fortlaufend zu inspirieren und mit seiner guten Laune permanent voranzutreiben. Es sieht hochprofessionell aus, wie er das so macht, und es bereitet Lust beim Hören und beim Sehen (freudige und freundliche Gesichter); und Rossini lebt und lebt und lebt...Nach knapp drei Stunden ist schon Schluss. Wo war die Zeit geblieben?" - KulturExtra

Brucknerfest Linz, September 2022

"The Tonkünstler Orchestra, under the direction of the admirable Jakob Lehmann, who stepped in at the last minute, showed itself to be consistently smooth, voluptuous and joyful in playing these pieces outside the well-known repertoire." - Die Presse

Thüringer Bachwochen, May 2022

"Neither entirely modern nor dogmatically historical, Lehmann interprets the baroque variety of voices in a consistently impressive way, allowing longer phrases to shine in their simple beauty."- Ostthüringer Zeitung

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ROSSINI | Il Barbieri di Siviglia | Teatro Nuovo

"What struck me most about this Barbiere was its exfoliation of hoary conventions that have accrued over the years to this most popular of comic operas...Jakob Lehmann’s leadership of the performance was most satisfying in the exuberant first-act finale." - Parterre.com

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"Lehmann kept everything admirably crisp and jaunty all night long." - Observer

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Orchestre de l'Opéra National de Lorraine, Nancy, June 2020

"Having become almost chamber music soloists, the instrumentalists demonstrate total commitment and invigorating energy under the attentive baton of Jakob Lehmann." - ResMusica

ROSSINI: Teatro Nuovo

"Jakob Lehmann, Teatro Nuovo’s Associate Artistic Director, lead an energetic, driven account of Rossini’s score. The orchestra played with the organic, living-breathing feel of chamber music, with a round, plush sound." - Cadenza.nyc

"Rossini performances have a mixed history in New York City, but Thursday June 27th there was no better place to be than on the Upper East Side, at the Church of the Heavenly Rest...The biggest revelation was the conducting of Jakob Lehmann. Too many performances of Rossini disappoint because of indifferent conducting ( even among established conductors) and his attention to detail and engagement surely inspired the performers, and certainly inspired the audience." - American Rossini Society

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"One of the most moving Rossini performances that New York has experienced in recent times" - American Rossini Society

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"Teatro Nuovo did not disappoint. Jakob Lehmann’s conducting infused the orchestra with the necessary energy." - Parterre.com

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"Under Maestro Lehmann’s direction, Teatro Nuovo’s orchestra gave a solid performance. The orchestra is a period instrument group, and Lehmann knew exactly how to punctuate the Stabat Mater with the tartness that is the hallmark of period instruments. Occasionally, his handling of the strings could be delightfully fragile, such as in the opening when just before the tenor solo, the pizzicato strings sounded like a human heartbeat...Operatic drama was the order of the day." - Operawire

CD review, "SCHUBERT/BERWALD", Alpha Classics, Anima Eterna Brugge, Spring 2019

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"What I particularly like about the interpretation of the Anima Eterna musicians: They don't play in a chiseled manner, the details aren't punched or overemphasized. And, crucial for the sound: They play on historical instruments. It's not a high-gloss sound, occasionally a note might stand out a little, but the instruments can blend together much better in their more muted colors." - WDR3

"The result is a pleasantly slender music-making that conveys many subtleties to our ears and makes the work seem so much more direct, immediate: with crescendos in a very small space and small accents like pinpricks, sometimes tongue-in-cheek, sometimes stirring. There is a fun accent in all movements, especially in the scherzo, the minuet and the dance-like finale. But the heart of the piece are the two long slow sections, carried and characterized by Schubert's melancholy, which is never blatantly displayed, but is presented in its entirety in a natural way. The symbiosis of wind and string instruments succeeds in almost all respects...It is hard to imagine a more subtle combination of pain and humor. A recording that leaves nothing to be desired, also due to its direct and plastic, never aggressive sound. - FonoForum

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"These instruments are wild...string graininess can be spun into sugary sweetness, not least by leader Jakob Lehmann’s application of portamento as an expressive device...If you’re on board with the historical instrument project then the tonal heterogeneity of this ensemble, complete with occasional key noise and bass pizzicatos that slap and buzz against the fingerboard, will have bags of appeal...the steampunk brazenness of this Belgian ensemble is its own advertisement." - Gramphone.co.uk

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"Beyond the notes, the nuances, the colours, there is the voluptuous commitment of the musicians...Velvety, acid timbres, bringing out all the transparency of the music. The instruments light up and go out in turn, like in an immense garland. The playing of the first violin, very Viennese, reminds us that style is the founding element of an identity...With this recording, Anima Eterna Brugge confirms all the relevance of its discographic choices." - ResMusica.com

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Anima Eterna Brugge, Heidelberger Frühling, March 2019

"Jakob Lehmann developed an always transparent sound and aimed for swift tempi, which which he showcased the stupendous virtuosity and joyful musicianship of the orchestra to great effect. In addition, he made it easy to the listener to understand musical structures. With this, Mendelssohn's relinquishment of breaks between the four movements of the Scottish Symphony seemed completely plausible as we in fact listened to a self contained work." - Rhein-Neckar-Zeitung

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Eroica Berlin, Wilhelmshaven, December 2018

"In Beethoven's Third Symphony, some places had the audience gasp for breath. Amazing the ambivalence with which Lehmann directs the Marcia funebre - as a mixture between sorrow and victoriousness. Astonishing is the great transparence, the exciting dynamics between the most extreme pianissimo and exuberant fortissimo - and Lehmann’s conducting style."- Nordwestzeitung

CD review, "SCHUBERT: RELOAD", Ars Vobiscum, Eroica Berlin

"The Schubert sound did not deliquescence into romantic whispering, it retained the urge to move forward, the muscular pressure of yearning, which sometimes reminded of a titanic musical clock." - Review of 'SCHUBERT: RELOAD', Ars Vobiscum, Süddeutsche Zeitung, Gustav Seibt

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CD review, "MENDELSSOHN: IN TIME", Alpha Classics, Anima Eterna Brugge​

"This coupling...is something of a revelation...the very opening of the work already comes as a shock, not only in the impetuous speed with which Jakob Lehmann launches the Bruges based period instrument orchestra Anima Eterna, but in the vibratoless shaping of the opening melody with many a sliding portamento." - BBC Music Magazine

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"A vividly enjoyable presentation" - Gramophone.co.uk

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"The sheer youthful energy of both performances is reason enough to give this album a whirl." - Presto Classical 

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"This Mendelssohn passes quickly. The violin concerto sounds refreshing like a cool, shaped breath of air... The octet, played by musicians from Anima Eterna Bruges, sounds dry, catchy and rocks in the right places, such as in the scherzo. Always lucid, never clogged up by a sound that is too rich." - Takt1 Magazin

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"The result is not a cautious academic assessment, but an interpretation of the work that is as passionate as it is sensitive... Jakob Lehmann leads the ... orchestra calmly and without showing off. The musicians managed to convey the untamed ... wonderfully without resorting to extreme tempos... These are not the first recordings of the two well-known works on historical instruments, but in this fascinating combination and with these versions, the project is unique to date. The two representatives of the "next generation" of Anima Eterna, Chouchane Siranossian and Jakob Lehmann, have emphatically positioned themselves." - Kulturradio vom RBB

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"The slow movement is beautifully cantabile, the finale is refreshingly light, and Jakob Lehmann inspires the orchestra to play very eloquently and with a great deal of musical immediacy." - Pizzicato.lu

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"She is supported by Jakob Lehmann, who conducts the concert carefully and precisely... Intensity, but never excessive temperament, speaks from these interpretations... Back to the roots was the motto, which is also audible in the transparent ensemble sound and the unpretentious, very natural performance... Praise to Jakob Lehmann and Chouchane Siranossian, who enrich the Anima Eterna." - NDR.de

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Concert, Australian Romantic & Classical Orchestra​

"The unfortunate last-minute indisposition of Richard Gill meant that Jakob Lehmann, concertmaster with the wonderful Anima Eterna Brugge, was promoted from guest leader to maestro at the shortest of notice. The audience were in good hands, as Lehmann proved to be a talented conductor with a perfect instinct for tempi and a strong sense of the importance of balance and blend. His overtures to Il Barbiere di Siviglia and L’Italiana in Algeri duly sparkled, and he was a sensitive accompanist in the vocal selections as well. (...) Lehmann whipped it along with considerable vigour (...).The Symphony itself received a textbook reading. (...) Lehmann drove it forwards with a great sense of swing particularly telling in the powerful three-four sections. The Adagio alternated between the lilting and the grandly noble, the central outbursts deftly handled." - Limelight Magazine

"We sensed from the start that we were in very capable hands. His (Jakob Lehmanns) passion and leadership shone through navigating the orchestra to its splendid finale. .(..) Kudos to Lehmann for having lead ARCO to such a fine performance. (...) Lehmann alternated with a convincing, firm pace and a good deal of expressive flair, the conflicting emotional outbursts in the two movements were rendered to magnificent effect." Sydney Arts Guide

"He (Jakob Lehmann) displayed a perfect sense of mood and timing and confident stick work." ArtsHub Australia

"Jakob Lehmann did a fabulous job navigating the orchestra through the tricky orchestral recitatives and inspiring a bold and brilliant engagement with Schubert’s Unfinished."  A Cunning Blog, Sydney