2016–17 will be a “Season of Heroes” for Philharmonia Baroque

Subscription tickets are now on sale for the 36th season of Philharmonia Baroque. The overall title for the six concerts in the series is Season of Heroes; and the heroes that will be acknowledged over the course of these concerts will be Antonio Vivaldi, George Frideric Handel, Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven, and Jean-Philippe Rameau. Some may wonder why the only French composer in that list is Rameau, but he will be represented by a fully-staged performance of his opera Le temple de la Gloire, whose libretto was written by Voltaire, another undisputed French hero, even if not for his achievements as a composer. The season will also include a program entitled Operatic Heroes, which will offer more Handel along with five other composers.

The season will feature two guest conductors, Rachel Podger, who will lead in her capacity as concertmaster and also perform as violin soloist, and Jonathan Cohen.  Waverley Fund Music Director Nicholas McGegan will conduct all other concerts. Other guest performers will include pianist Robert Levin, violinist Isabelle Faust, and countertenor Iestyn Davis. who will present the “operatic” heroes.

All programs will be given in San Francisco except for Le temple de la Gloire, all of whose presentations will take place at Zellerbach Hall on the University of California campus at Berkeley. These will feature a special appearance by the New York Baroque Dance Company, whose co-founder, Catherine Turocy, will serve as both stage director and choreographer. There will be three performances over the course of a single weekend at 8 p.m. on Friday, April 28, and Saturday, April 29, and at 3 p.m. on Sunday, April 30. Single tickets will be handled by Cal Performances and will go on sale next month. However, the opera is also included in the Philharmonia Baroque subscription package.

All performances in San Francisco will take place at Herbst Theatre, located at 401 Van Ness Avenue on the southwest corner of McAllister Street. Specifics are as follows:

Friday, October 21, 8 p.m.

All Beethoven with Robert Levin

BEETHOVEN

Concerto for Fortepiano No. 3

Symphony No. 6 "Pastoral"

Nicholas McGegan, conductor

Robert Levin, fortepiano

Friday, November 4, 8 p.m.

Vivaldi & Bach with Rachel Podger

VERACINI Overture No. 6 in G minor

VIVALDI Violin Concerto in D major "L'inquietudine"

BACH Double Concerto for Oboe and Violin

TARTINI Concerto for Violin in A major

VIVALDI Chamber Concerto in G minor

BACH Orchestra Suite No. 1

Rachel Podger, violin and leader

Thursday, December 1, 7 p.m.

Handel's Joshua

HANDEL              

"Joshua"

Friday, January 27, 8 p.m.

Haydn & Mozart with Isabelle Faust

HAYDN Symphony No. 63 "La Roxelane"

MOZART Violin Concerto No. 5 "Turkish"

HAYDN Symphony No. 91

Nicholas McGegan, conductor

Isabelle Faust

Friday, March 3, 8 p.m.

Operatic Heroes with Jonathan Cohen and Ietsyn Davies

HANDEL Arias from "Saul" and "Theodora"

HASSE Works from "Didone Abbandonata"

ZELENKA Suite in A minor

ARNE "Vengeance, O come inspire me!" from "Alfred"

CPE BACH Sinfonia in D minor

GLUCK Arias and dances from "Telemanco" and "Orfeo ed Euridice"

Jonathan Cohen, conductor

Iestyn Davis, countertenor

Subscriptions to the full season will cover all six concerts (including the Rameau opera) for the price of five. However, the season will also be split into two equal halves, each of which will be covered by a separate “Trio” subscription package. Full details and hyperlinks for placing orders can be found on the Subscription Packages Web page on the Philharmonia Baroque Web site. Single tickets will go on sale on August 15, at which time the Single Tickets Web page will be activated to process orders. Further information may be obtained by calling Patron Services at 415-295-1900, which is open Monday through Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.