Founded in Berlin in 1982, the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, or Akamus for short, is today among the world’s leading historically informed chamber orchestras and can look back on an unparalleled success story.

The ensemble is “Ehrenpreisträger der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik 2026”. It is being recognized as “the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, which has set milestones in historical performance practice and is celebrated for its consistently infectious curiosity about Baroque repertoire.”

The album “Gluck – Italian Arias” with Cecilia Bartoli was awarded a Grammy Award in 2002.
For the album “Scarlatti – Il Primo Omicidio”, the ensemble received a Grammy nomination in 1999 in the category “Best Small Ensemble Performance.”

In recognition of its outstanding contributions to the historical performance practice of 18th‑century music, the ensemble was awarded the Bach Medal of the City of Leipzig in 2014. Established in 2003, the prize is presented annually. Previous laureates include Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Sir John Eliot Gardiner, and Gustav Leonhardt, among others.

The ensemble has received the German Record Critics’ Award on multiple occasions. Among the distinguished albums honored are:

“Vivaldi - Sacro Furore” with Carlo Vistoli (2025)
“Johann Sebastian Bach - Violin Concertos” with Isabelle Faust (2019)
“Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach - Magnificat Wq 215” (2014)
“Johann Christian Bach - Missa da Requiem, Miserere in B flat Major” (2012)
“Johann Ludwig Bach - Trauermusik” (2011)
“Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - The Magic Flute” (2011)
“Henry Purcell - Dido & Aeneas” (Jahrespreis 2009)
“Vivica Genaux - Arias for Farinelli” (Jahrespreis 2002)

In 2016, the orchestra was honored with the Telemann Prize of the City of Magdeburg.

Works by Telemann have been part of the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin’s repertoire since its founding and have profoundly shaped the ensemble’s approach to 18th‑century music. Many of its numerous concert and recording projects have been - and continue to be - devoted exclusively to the Magdeburg‑born composer. With their fruitful and enduring enthusiasm for Telemann, the musicians of the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin have repeatedly made a strong artistic impact in Magdeburg as well, performing at the Telemann Festtage and in the Telemann-Sonntagsmusiken series.

For its recording of Bach’s St Matthew Passion with the RIAS Kammerchor Berlin under René Jacobs, the ensemble received the Echo Klassik award in 2014.

Several of the ensemble’s CDs have been honored with the Diapason d’Or, most recently the 2024 release “Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach – Symphonies – From Berlin to Hamburg.”