As we knew from past Festivals, the 2013 Boston Early Music Festival was going to be nothing short of extraordinary — in the wide variety and extremely high level of the performances, the huge number of international performers, and total number of concerts. Even the music festivals that we go to in Europe don’t compare… Read More Nothing short of phenomenal
Our last concert of the Boston Early Music Festival (my 22nd!) was a four-hour extravaganza, an opera by George Frideric Handel, called Almira in the beautiful Cutler Majestic Theatre. An all-star international cast assembled by Paul O’Dette and Stephen Stubbs, with stage director Gilbert Blin, put on a musical feast for both the eyes and… Read More Handel Opera a triumph
Look at the gigantic bass recorder!! On Sunday morning, Carl decided to go to Church of the Advent for their 11:15 service which precluded his attendance at the BEMF concert at 12:30 pm. That meant that I had an extra ticket so I looked for someone, perhaps a student, who might like to have his… Read More Recorders galore
Last night’s chamber opera doublebill, La Descente d’Orphé aux Enfers and La couronne de Fleurs by Marc-Antoine Charpentier was breathtaking in its beauty and elegance. The small orchestra, directed by Paul O’Dette and Stephen Stubbs, was seated on stage, surrounded by a giant garland of flowers on the stage floor (The Crown of Flowers) The… Read More Charpentier Chamber Opera
If you click here, you’ll hear some of the hypnotic music we heard yesterday at the concert by Hesperion XXI, conducted by Jordi Savall. I was absolutely mesmerized by this early music from Istanbul — music from the Ottoman, Sephardic, Greek and Armenian traditions. I cannot even describe the instruments that were used in this… Read More Hypnotized by Hesperion XXI
My last two concerts of the day were a fortepiano recital with Anthony Romaniuk and Yi-heng Yang and an ensemble called Gli Incogniti. The fortepiano recital was held at the Museum of Fine Art and was part of a keyboard mini-festival with one concert each on the harpsichord, fortepiano and clavichord. The Museum’s fortepiano was… Read More Keyboard Mini-Festival
I went to three concerts today, even though we had tickets for a fourth and gave them away. At this time in the week, we have to say that all the music has been just fabulous, but the body is protesting from the sensory overload, jet lag and lack of sleep. By the end of… Read More Another day, another three concerts
Thursday afternoon and evening we went to two fantastic concerts, beginning with the Newberry Consort, a medieval instrumental and vocal group which presented Rosa das Rosas, ten vignettes on medieval miracles supposedly composed by Alfonso X, king of Castile, Leon, and Galicia. What was unique about this group’s presentation was the projection of medieval art… Read More Double enchantment
Is that an oxymoron or what? Today I attended an organ mini-festival consisting of three two-hour organ recitals, described as a “journey” through Bach’s life. Part I was called “The Young Bach: From Ohrdruf to Weimar” and was played by organist William Porter. He gave some introductory remarks about the pieces he was going to… Read More Organ Mini-Festival Marathon
The day started poorly — I spilled orange juice at breakfast on my wireless keyboard then Carl tipped over his wine glass at lunch, not only spilling the wine but also breaking the glass. And this was at our favorite restaurant in Boston — Legal Seafoods! Our first concert of the day was at Emmanuel… Read More Virtuoso viol