Readers may recall that last month members of the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra & Chorale (PBO) “officially” brought Herbst Theatre “back to life” after roughly sixteen months of lockdown conditions with a performance by the Philharmonia Baroque Chamber Players. That performance was preceded by the announcement of a full concert season for 2021/22, the first to be led by new Music Director Richard Egarr. Here in San Francisco that season will consist of six programs, all of which will take place in Herbst, located at 401 Van Ness Avenue on the southwest corner of McAllister Street. Specifics are as follows:
Thursday, October 14, 8 p.m.: Egarr will give his first in-person performance since his appointment with a program entitled Schumann’s Reawakened Masterpieces. The title refers primarily to a performance of Robert Schumann’s Opus 148 setting of the Requiem text. This will mark the first performance by the Philharmonia Chorale since December of 2019. The vocal soloists will be soprano Amanda Forsythe, mezzo Kelley O’Connor, tenor Brenden Gunnell, and bass Joshua Bloom. The program will begin with Schumann’s WoO 23 violin concerto in D minor. While this was one of Schumann’s last significant compositions, it remained unknown to the general public for over 80 years after its completion in 1853. Violinist Shunske Sato will make his PBO debut as soloist.
Friday, November 12, 8 p.m.: Jonathan Cohen will conduct a program entitled Something Old, Something New, Something Mad. The “new” will be the world premiere of “Giving Ground” by Australian composer Paul Stanhope. The title refers to “La Folia,” one of the most famous ground bass lines, above which a rich abundance of variations have been composed. One of the composers from the seventeenth century was Arcangelo Corelli, whose variations constituted the last of the twelve violin sonatas in his Opus 5 collection. About 30 years later Francesco Geminiani rescored all twelve sonatas for string ensemble, and Stanhope’s composition will be followed by Geminiani’s arrangement. Cellist Keiran Campbell will be the featured soloist in a performance of Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach’s Wq. 172 concerto in A major. The program will also include selections by Bach’s father (Johann Sebastian), George Frideric Handel, and Antonio Vivaldi, as well as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s K. 405 arrangement of Sebastian’s BWV 876 fugue in E-flat major, from the First Book of The Well-Tempered Clavier.
Thursday, December 9, 8 p.m.: PBO will launch the holiday season with a performance of Bach’s BWV 248 Christmas Oratorio. This composition is actually a sequence of six cantatas, each intended for a different date in the liturgical calendar. The Philharmonia Chorale will be joined by soloists Lydia Teuscher (soprano), Avery Amereau (contralto), Gwilym Bowen (tenor), and Ashley Riches (bass-baritone). Egarr will conduct.
Friday, February 4, 8 p.m.: This will be the latest partnership with the Historical Performance division of the Juilliard School and its J415 ensemble. At the end of January, Egarr will lead a side-by-side performance of the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra & Chorale with J415 musician and vocal soloists from Juilliard, taking place at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall. The program will consist entirely of Bach’s BWV 232 B minor setting of the Mass text. The entire “show” will then go “on the road” to the Bay Area. The soloists will be soprano Mary Bevan, countertenor Iestyn Davies, tenor James Gilchrist, and baritone Roderick Williams.
Thursday, February 10, 8 p.m.: Egarr will lead a program entitled Mozart the Radical, which will highlight works that Mozart composed towards the end of his life. He will conduct the K. 491 keyboard concerto in C minor from the fortepiano. Soprano Elizabeth Watts will present two of the songs that Mozart composed with orchestral accompaniment. The program will then conclude with the K. 504 (“Prague”) symphony in D major.
Friday, March 11, 8 p.m.: Skip Sempé will make his PBO conducting debut in a program entitled From Versailles to the English Court. The English composer will be Henry Purcell, who held the position of organist at the Chapel Royal. Versailles, on the other hand, will be reflected through three composers: Jean-Baptiste Lully, François Couperin, and Marin Marais. In addition, PBO oboist Marc Schachman will perform one of Tomaso Albinoni’s oboe concertos.
There are a variety of subscription options for both the full season and those not wishing to attend all six of these concerts. Prices range from $90 to $648. The date for the sale of single tickets will be July 15. A single Web page has been created for all of the subscription options. Further information may be obtained by calling Patron Services at 415-295-1900, which is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
No comments:
Post a Comment