Saturday, January 27, 2024

PBO to Present Concertos for Two Harpsichords

Keyboardists Alexandra Nepomnyashchaya and Richard Egarr (courtesy of PBO)

The title of the next program to be performed by the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra (PBO) will be Double Espresso. The entire program has been organized around the three concertos that Johann Sebastian Bach composed for two harpsichords, BWV 1060 in C minor, BWV 1061 in C major, and BWV 1062 in C minor. Some readers may recall that, during the COVID pandemic, this was the title of a Live from Amsterdam program streamed by the PBO 2020/Virtual series, featuring keyboardists Richard Egarr and Alexandra Nepomnyashchaya. They will again be the soloists for this second installment of Double Espresso. The caffeinated title reflects on the likelihood that Bach composed these concertos when he was director of the Collegium Musicum, which gave weekly concerts at Gottfried Zimmermann’s coffee house in Leipzig.

“Double” also refers to the fact that program will feature only two composers. The other composer will be Georg Philipp Telemann, who will be represented by two concertos “in 7 parts,” the first in F major and the second in A minor. In addition, the entire program will conclude with his “Alster Overture.”

The San Francisco performance of this program will begin at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, February 1. The venue will be Herbst Theatre, located on the first two floors of the Veterans Building on the southwest corner of Van Ness Avenue and McAllister Street. Tickets may be purchased online through a City Box Office event page. Ticket prices are $30, $50, $75, and $100.

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