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
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
“I wouldn’t do this for anyone except Kristian Bezuidenhout,” Carl said last night, when it was announced that our favorite performer on the fortepiano would be playing the late-night concert beginning at 11 pm. Paul O’Dette, the Boston Early Music Festival Co-Artistic Director, announced at the beginning of the concert that he was sitting at… Read More Another great artist
In a couple of days, we’ll be heading for Boston where we will be attending the Boston Early Music Festival (BEMF), which for us is the Boston Marathon! This is the premier festival for early music junkies (like ourselves), which The Times of London calls “the world’s leading festival of early music.” The New York Times… Read More The Boston Marathon
The last sentence of former student Joey Fala‘s letter which was read on Sunday at my 35-year celebration was this: I’m looking forward to seeing you in Boston this summer! Who would have guessed that just a day later, people around the world would have the city of Boston in their hearts and prayers? The horrific images of… Read More Boston . . . who knew?
We have been so fortunate to be at the Boston Early Music Festival — it is presented in odd-numbered years and I would heartily recommend it to anyone who wants to hear the best of the best in early music. I dare say that at this particular festival every single concert is over the top… Read More Sharing BEMF with the world
Surely the crown jewel of the 2011 Boston Early Music Festival was the opera production of “Niobe, Regina di Tebe (Niobe, Queen of Thebes)” by Agostino Steffani (1654-1728). This four-hour Baroque opera was absolutely fantastic in every possible way — the music, EVERY SINGLE singer, the period orchestra, the costumes, the sets, the acting, the… Read More The crown jewel