In 66 days...

... we'll get to see our Nic conduct Mozart here in the Bay Area. For now, we'll just have to read about him conducting Mozart elsewhere.

For you impatient fans out there, subscribers will begin to receive their tickets this week(!) and single tickets go on sale in 15 days on August 5.

Japanese Handel?

Is of course courtesy of our Music Director! Who else did you expect!

Read more.

Fun — and fart jokes — in classical music

That was the sub-headline of the great feature in The Aspen Times this weekend on our Music Director.

That's right, so soon back from Oregon and Nic's off in Aspen (and we wish we could go see him conduct, but we'll have to wait until September when our 30th Season kicks off).

Here's a bit of our favorite part from the article:

"McGegan believes that injecting that sort of jollity into classical music is hardly a radical notion, or even a departure from early concert-going.

"'Mozart loved it when people clapped in the middle of a movement,' he said. 'I have no problem with people clapping between movements. If you're playing Mahler Nine, it's a different atmosphere than [Mozart's] 'Jupiter' Symphony, or Haydn, which had genuine jokes in it.' McGegan mentions a Haydn passage in which two bassoons play some loud, rude notes: 'It could only be associated with the back end of a cow. You can be sure the original audience laughed their asses off.'

"The notion that classical music is strictly serious business wasn't around at the birth of concert music. McGegan imagines a dinner party where the guests are all noted composers, and he believes there would be plenty of drinking, laughter and off-color behavior.

"'Haydn would be delightful, charming. Mendelssohn — wonderful,' he said. 'Mozart would probably tell naughty jokes and fart and throw bread rolls at the women. He wasn't well-trained for the house. Poor Beethoven — he'd probably be tortured, because he couldn't hear the conversation. Wagner would just talk about himself.'

"A review of a recent concert McGegan did with the Philadelphia Orchestra referred to McGegan and Robert Levin as 'the two naughty boys of early music.' But McGegan finds nothing inappropriate about his approach to music. When the music calls for an austere respect, he has no trouble moving into a more solemn mode. In any event, his credentials as a proper gentleman were solidified last month, when he was named an Officer of the Order of the British Empire.

"But McGegan sees his role not so much as standing erect next to the queen, but in getting the classical music world off its high and mighty throne."

Nic in Oregon this weekend!

Nic flew up to Eugene, Oregon, this morning just in time for rehearsal for tomorrows’s 40th Anniversary Gala Concert at the Oregon Bach Festival. He probably thought he'd be having a nice, quiet long weekend in Berkeley, however pianist and conductor Jeffrey Kahane just had to cancel his appearances at the festival because of illness.

Learn more about this concert.

More Nic News

Last week, Juilliard's Historical Performance program announced that Nic will conduct Juilliard415 on Saturday, November 20 at 8 PM in Alice Tully Hall. The program includes a rare Handel cantata, Clori, Tirsi, e Fileno, and Vivaldi's Concerto for Two Flutes in C Major. Having only just debuted in December of last year, Juilliard415, the music school's new period-instrument group, will perform a series of seven concerts next season that features not only Nic, but also Jordi Savall and William Christie. Watch them perform with Artistic Director Monica Huggett below.

McGegan has long relationship with Juilliard, including a teaching residency and has regular appearances conducting the Juilliard Orchestra. He returns to conduct the Juilliard Orchestra that same week on Monday, November 22 at 8 PM in Alice Tully Hall.

Congratulations Nic!

What does Graham William Nash, co-founder of Crosby, Stills and Nash, and our Music Director Nicholas McGegan have in common? Both were named Officers of the British Empire in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list published this weekend. Congratulations Nic!

Closing out 20 years: Nic and the Göttingen International Handel Festival

Today, our Music Director Nic (left) conducted the final performance of the Göttingen International Handel Festival – the dark opera Tamerlano (HWV 18). Nic has led the Festival as its Music Director for the last 20 years. In 1991, he was passed the baton (figuratively of course, Nic doesn't use a baton as you may remember) by Sir John Eliot Gardiner. Next year, Nic will pass the honors of leading the Festival to (fittingly) yet another British conductor – Laurence Cummings. This year was the Festival's 90th year – to learn more about the festival, watch this video.

In related news, SFCV gave the Festival's new recording of Mendelssohn's arrangement of Handel's Dettinger Te Deum (left) a rave review today! This disc features Nic conducting many of Philharmonia Baroque's musicians in the FestspielOrchester Göttingen, as well as frequent collaborators Dominique Labelle and William Berger and recent guests Thomas Cooley (.pdf) and Colin Ainsworth (.pdf).

Meet Goldilocks

Today, in the San Francisco Chronicle's "Props" column, Joshua Kosman profiled the harpsichord with a stage presence that can only rival its owner – our Music Director Nic! Here "Goldilocks" is in a photo taken shortly after she was built in 1996:

Forever mad: The Legacy of Orlando Furioso

38,736 lines of poetry collected into 46 cantos make up one of Western culture's most influential works of literature – Ludovico Ariosto's epic poem Orlando Furioso. Written and rewritten over the course of 26 years, this masterpiece once inspired operas, plays, poems, novels, art work and, of course, plenty of copy cats. Ariosta's work "of loves and ladies, knights and arms... of courtesies, and many a daring feat" was actually a sequel of Matteo Maria Boiardo's unfinished romance Orlando Innamorato, which fused the French legends Charlemagne with the English legends of King Arthur.

Until recently though, many in our office hadn't even heard of the poem, the source material, for Handel's opera Orlando (and a couple others too). Well, thank goodness for us (and you), Stanford University's Center for Medieval and Early Modern Studies is hosting a symposium this spring about this poem and its legacy, which includes a conversation with Nic about Handel's Orlando and a performance by the Sicilian puppet company Figli d'Arte Cuticchio. Learn more.

Into the crazy world of Orlando: From our Handel expert (and Music Director) Nic McGegan

Nicholas McGegan joins us again to let us know what's so special about George Frideric Handel's opera Orlando, which the orchestra and chorale will perform in April:

Pictured above is the autographed score of Orlando, one of a series of so-called magic operas by Handel. While the sources of many of his plots are derived from classical history or mythology, the 1733 opera Orlando (as well as Ariodante and Alcina, both of 1735) is based on an Italian epic poem from the Renaissance – Orlando furioso by Ludovico Ariosto. Its story is one of extravagant valour and passion taken to the point of madness. Indeed, one could say that works in this genre were parodied by Cervantes in Don Quixote.

Extravagance, passion and madness are, of course, the life blood of opera and it is clear that Handel was inspired by the subject to produce one of his finest works. This is the last opera he wrote for the great alto castrato Senesino (left) for whom he had composed operas for a dozen years. Senesino was a difficult character but a superb singer and, unlike Farinelli, a splendid actor. This must have been a perfect role for him. The Mad Scene that forms the climax to the Second Act is one of the moments of Baroque Opera. Gone are all the normal conventions of the genre, even normal rhythms go awry as Orlando descends (in his own deluded mind) into Hell in five/eight time.

Into this crazy world, Handel, or rather his librettist, introduces two characters who are not found in Ariosto’s original. One is the magus Zoroastro who watches over the mad Orlando and eventually cures him of his insane love for Angelica. He is a wise father figure who will reappear in the Magic Flute as Sarastro. The other is the shepherdess Dorinda who represents an ordinary ‘down to earth girl’ mixed up in the rarified world of chivalrous romance. Her reactions are sometimes comic but she is also emotionally hurt by the crazy grandees about her, who use her and occasionally abuse her. However, she is the contact between us, the audience, and the other characters. This role was created for Celeste Gismondi, a Neapolitan comedienne, newly arrived in London. Obviously, she was an excellent singer and pert actress. It is with her character that we most often sympathise.

Handel’s music is of the highest level throughout and, because of the story, he was inspired to experiment with glorious results. Apart from the famous Mad Scene, the Trio at the end of the First Act is one of the finest ensembles he ever wrote and the aria during which Orlando finally collapses would not be out of place in a Bach Passion.

All this emotional extravagance was matched on stage by new scenery and costumes (like pictured left) specially made for the production. This was unusual at the time and was even noted in the newspapers. In addition, there were flying machines, including a chariot drawn by dragons to take Orlando out of Hell. We are, of course, giving the work in concert, so the audience will have to imagine the magic world on stage that went hand in hand with Handel’s glorious music.

Like the human voice...

Though Toronto indie rocker Charles Spearin's Happiness Project is one the most touching explorations of humanity through sound in recent memory, he is not exploring a new idea – musicians and composers have long tried to replicate the beauty of the human voice and patterns of speech instrumentally. In particular, bowed stringed instruments have always been admired for their ability to mimic the human voice.

In anticipation of our concerts this weekend and next, Philharmonia Baroque players David Wilson and Maria Caswell, as well as guest artist Jordi Savall, talk about the voice of early stringed orchestral instruments: Listen to our audio concert prelude.

Nic on performing Brahms: Pt. 5

Nic is back for his final post! Want to learn more about performing Brahms on period instruments? Listen to our audio preview, featuring Nic, string player Maria Caswell and host Teddy Wing. Now, here is Nic on orchestra arrangement – you may be surprised to see where your favorite musicians are sitting at our upcoming concerts:

Orchestra size and arrangement –

In Brahms’ time, as in earlier periods, the size of orchestras varied widely. Brahms himself seems to have preferred intimate halls with relatively small forces. The Meiningen orchestra had 48 members and the orchestra in Karlsruhe, which gave the first performance of the 1st Symphony, had 49 members. The string count was 9 first violins, 9 second violins, 4 violas, 4 cellos, and 4 basses.

Many German orchestras continued to perform concerts standing. In 1893, one of the members of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra was quoted as saying: “In the Gewandhaus we are wholly different people than in the theatre; in a black dress coat and standing erect at the desk…a different higher spirit dominates us.” The Meiningen orchestra under von Bülow (with the young Richard Strauss as his assistant) also played standing. The orchestra will probably sit, since we’ll be playing a substantial concerto, but it might be interesting to try it out.

Georg Henschel, when he took charge of the newly founded Boston Symphony in 1881, sent Brahms a couple of seating plans for his approval. Here is the one the composer favoured, the one the orchestra will be giving a try:

Thank you for reading, I hope that you will enjoy our concerts. For further reading, I recommend the following books:

• Brown, Clive. 1999. Classical and Romantic Performance Practice 1750-1900. Oxford University Press.
• Haynes, Bruce. 2002. A History of Performing Pitch (The Story of “A”). Scarecrow Press.
• Lawson, Colin, and Robin Stowell. 1999. The Historical Performance of Music, an Introduction. Cambridge University Press.
• Musgrave, Michael, and Bernard D. Sherman. 2003. Performing Brahms. Cambridge University Press.

Announcing 2010-11 – Our 30th Anniversary Season

Today, we announced our 30th Anniversary Season!

Current subscribers can renew their subscriptions now! General public subscriptions go on sale March 15th! Single tickets go on sale August 5th. Keep checking our website, more information will be up in the coming weeks. If you can't wait... you can always join us this weekend for Brahms (just in time for Valentine's)!

Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra and Chorale's

2010-11 Season

* – Philharmonia Baroque premiere

† – Philharmonia Baroque debut

September – Robert Levin plays Mozart

Friday 24 September Herbst Theatre, San Francisco

Saturday 25 September First Congregational Church, Berkeley

Sunday 26 September First Congregational Church, Berkeley

Tuesday 28 September Menlo-Atherton Performing Arts Center, Atherton

Wednesday 29 September Lesher Center for the Arts, Walnut Creek

Nicholas McGegan, conductor

Robert Levin, fortepiano (below)

MOZART

Incidental Music from Thamos, King of Egypt *

Concerto for Fortepiano No. 20 in D minor, K. 466 *

Fragments of newly found works for Fortepiano and Orchestra (U.S. Premiere)

Symphony No. 41 in C major, KV 551 “Jupiter” (Last performed by Philharmonia Baroque on March 2001)

October – Bach’s Wedding Cantata

Friday 15 October Herbst Theatre, San Francisco

Saturday 16 October First Congregational Church, Berkeley

Sunday 17 October First Congregational Church, Berkeley

Tuesday 19 October Menlo-Atherton Performing Arts Center, Atherton

Lars Ulrik Mortensen, conductor and harpsichord (below) †

Maria Keohane, soprano †

BACH

Orchestral Suite No. 1 in C major, BWV 1066

Concerto for Harpsichord in D minor, BWV 1052

“Weichet nur, betrübte Schatten,” Wedding Cantata, BWV 202 (February 1982 – Philharmonia Baroque’s first public concert)

Concerto for Harpsichord in D major, BWV 1054


November – Vivaldi’s Four Seasons

Friday 5 November Herbst Theatre, San Francisco

Saturday 6 November First Congregational Church, Berkeley

Sunday 7 November First Congregational Church, Berkeley

Tuesday 9 November Menlo-Atherton Performing Arts Center, Atherton

Wednesday 10 November Lesher Center for the Arts, Walnut Creek

Nicholas McGegan, conductor

Elizabeth Blumenstock, violin (concertmaster)

VIVALDI The Four Seasons, Op. 8, Nos. 1-4 (March 1991)

CORELLI Concerto Grosso Op. 6, No. 11 in B-flat major

PERGOLESI Sinfonia in F major *

DURANTE Concerto No. 5 in A major *

ZAVATERI Concerto decimo a Pastorale, Op. 1 *

December – Handel’s Messiah

Friday 3 December Herbst Theatre, San Francisco

Saturday 4 December First Congregational Church, Berkeley

Sunday 5 December First Congregational Church, Berkeley

Tuesday 7 December Menlo-Atherton Performing Arts Center, Atherton

Nicholas McGegan, conductor

Daniel Taylor, countertenor

John McVeigh, tenor

Tyler Duncan, bass †

Philharmonia Chorale, Bruce Lamott, director

TBA soprano

HANDEL Messiah (December 2002)


January – David Daniels

Saturday 15 January First Congregational Church, Berkeley

Sunday 16 January First Congregational Church, Berkeley

Tuesday 18 January Menlo-Atherton Performing Arts Center, Atherton

Friday 21 January Herbst Theatre, San Francisco

Nicholas McGegan, conductor

David Daniels, countertenor (below)

VIVALDI Stabat mater, RV 621 *

HANDEL Arias from Giulio Cesare

TELEMANN Suite in F major, TWV 55:F11 “Alster Overture” *

February – Hummel’s Concerto for Keyed Trumpet

Friday 11 February Herbst Theatre, San Francisco

Saturday 12 February First Congregational Church, Berkeley

Sunday 13 February First Congregational Church, Berkeley

Tuesday 15 February Menlo-Atherton Performing Arts Center, Atherton

Nicholas McGegan, conductor

Gabriele Cassone, keyed trumpet (below)†

SPOHR Symphony No. 2 in D minor, Op. 49 *

HUMMEL Concerto for Keyed Trumpet in E major *

MENDELSSOHN Symphony No. 1 in C minor, Op. 11 *

March – Flicka!

Friday 4 March Herbst Theatre, San Francisco

Saturday 5 March First Congregational Church, Berkeley

Sunday 6 March First Congregational Church, Berkeley

Tuesday 8 March Menlo-Atherton Performing Arts Center, Atherton

Wednesday 9 March Lesher Center for the Arts, Walnut Creek

Nicholas McGegan, conductor

Frederica von Stade, mezzo-soprano (below)†

REBEL Les Caractères de la danse *

Nathaniel STOOKEY Into the Bright Lights (poetry by Flicka) (U.S. Premiere)

RAMEAU Les Indes galantes suite d’orchestre

GLUCK Arias

April – Haydn’s Creation

Friday 8 April Herbst Theatre, San Francisco

Saturday 9 April First Congregational Church, Berkeley

Sunday 10 April First Congregational Church, Berkeley

Tuesday 12 April Menlo-Atherton Performing Arts Center, Atherton

Wednesday 13 April Lesher Center for the Arts, Walnut Creek

Nicholas McGegan, conductor

Dominique Labelle, soprano

Thomas Cooley, tenor

Philharmonia Chorale, Bruce Lamott, director

HAYDN The Creation (April 1994)

Celebrating 30 Years of Inspired Sound

When Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra of the West played the first notes of Johann Sebastian Bach’s Wedding Cantata at Herbst Theatre on February 4, 1982, no one guessed what the future would hold. At the time, just having formed the first period instrument ensemble on the West Coast was a feat in itself. By the mid-1970s, a small community of musicians and craftsmen had converged on the Bay Area, all inspired by a countercultural phenomenon: the early music movement. It was not until a fateful moment in 1977 that the true power of this rediscovered period of music was realized at a summer camp on the Russian River—a roomful of these musicians played together as an ensemble, on period instruments, for the very first time. They produced a sound so full of life, expression, exuberance, clarity and subtlety that it seemed to vibrate from the hearts and minds of the composers.

The moment was so moving, so unique, that one musician—Laurette Goldberg—became obsessed with creating an orchestra that would be able to recreate the richness, brilliance, flexibility and articulation that the composers of the Baroque and early Classical periods intended. Laurette spent five years bringing together a group of people who would support the musicians who became Philharmonia Baroque. At thetime, her ideas were radical—a chamber orchestra, Baroque and early-Classical repertoire, period instruments, but her desire was not—to create something meaningful, affecting, transcendent.

Since the very beginning, Philharmonia Baroque has been about the love of a sound—a sound, once heard, that changes once and for all the way we want to experience music, whether on stage or in the audience. This inspiration has guided Philharmonia Baroque from the start, and the organization’s ultimate goal has remained constant since its inception 30 years ago: we want our music to delight, to inspire and to educate—to increase the level of beauty, sensitivity and joy in a complex world.

We hope to see you this season and next!

Nic on performing Brahms: Pt. 4

Nic continues his post about the style that the orchestra will perform Brahms in this week:

Tempo –

Brahms was notoriously metronome-averse, so neither of the pieces that we will be playing are provided with metronome markings. Joachim, however, had no such qualms, and his edition of the Violin Concerto (1910) does have them. In the German edition of Joachim’s Violinschule (1905), which contains the violin part of the concerto, there are faster markings than in the 1910 edition; those are given here in parenthesis. They are:

Mvt. 1. Quarter note =120 (126).

Mvt. 2 Eighth note = 72

Mvt. 3 Quarter note = 96 (104). Poco più presto, Quarter note = 120 (132)

These however are not to be thought of as tempi that apply to a complete movement. There is plenty of evidence to show that Brahms, like many of his time, preferred a very flexible approach to speed. The orchestra will try this, at least in the Serenade. There is a wide variation in the overall timings of some Brahms’ Symphonies from one performance to another. For example, Symphony No. 1 was performed in 37 minutes by Hans von Bülow and the Meiningen Orchestra in 1884, compared to Carlo Maria Giulini and the L.A. Philharmonic in 1981 at slightly over 49 minutes.

Pitch –

We will be tuning to A-440. When touring, Richard Mühlfeld would send a tuning fork ahead to the next venue so that the piano could be tuned to the right pitch. His fork was at A-440. This was, however, by no means the universal pitch at the time. ‘Pitch battles’ were fought all over Europe between instrumentalists, who favoured a higher pitch, and opera companies, whose singers tried to keep the pitch lower. Often such a war would go on within the same city as in London. Pitch could vary from somewhere in the 420’s to the mid 450’s. So 440 seems a reasonable compromise!

Phrasing –

Fritz Steinbach, the conductor of the Meiningen orchestra from 1886 to 1903, used to play the opening of Brahms’ Second Symphony with audible gaps between the slurs. He modelled his performance practice style on that of the composer. Such phrasing was also discussed in letters between Brahms and Joachim in 1879. See the marks below.

Stay tuned, Nic's final post will be about the most radical change for the orchestra this set: orchestra size and arrangement.