The Akademie für Alte Musik, Berlin, was among the first period-instrument orchestras founded in the former East Germany, and it remains a leader in the field today. The group has specialized in the music of Bach and other composers of the German Baroque but has also performed and recorded Italian and French music. The group made its recording debut with an album of music by Telemann, Geminiani, and Blavet in 1987. The orchestra earned a Grammy Award in 2002 when it backed Cecilia Bartoli on an album of arias by Christoph Willibald Gluck. Among its many recordings is a 2019 set of Bach violin concertos with violinist Isabelle Faust. The Akademie marked its 40th year in 2022 with a flurry of activity that included performances of Purcell and Telemann and several new releases, including an all-Telemann album with Antoine Tamestit and an 11-disc Bach family set.