Elixir d’Anvers
was founded in 1992 and has in the mean time developed into one of the best ensembles in its genre. Hans Cammaert (violin), Martin Valcke (piano), Wim Voet (clarinet) and Katelijn Van Kerckhoven (cello) had already made their marks with De Frivole Framboos [The Frivolous Raspberry], De Beethovenacademie [The Beethoven Academy], the orchestra for the Flemish opera, and so on. With their concerts, Elixir d’Anvers above all aims to acquaint the general public with the rather unknown gems of the Art Deco period: from a sedate waltz or a Hungarian rhapsody to a fiery tango or lightning tarantella. They have already performed concerts with this repertoire throughout Flanders, among others with concerts for radio Klara and the Festival of Flanders.
For their New Year concerts they have already worked in the company of Liesbeth Devos, Lars Piselé, Piet Vansichen, Lien Haegeman and Marc Meersman.
In addition to musical programmes, Elixir d’Anvers also regularly performs music theatre. As such they have in the past teamed up with the actors Bart Voet and Pieter Embrechts. For years they toured the Flemish cultural centres with the actor Benjamin Sercu, performing “L’Assassinat d’Anvers” and “Chateaubriand”.
A first CD under the ‘Classic Talent’ label was released in February 2003. At the moment they are engaged in the preparations for a second CD, a CD where the Belgian Art Deco music will occupy centre stage.
In 2013 they participated in the prestigious VRT television serie “In Flanders Fields”, a story that takes place during the First World War.