REVIEW: Berkshire Bach Society, "Bach at New Year’s"

Academy of Music, Northampton, MA

https://berkshirebach.org

December 30, 2024

by Michael J. Moran

The Berkshire Bach Ensemble brought their customary flair and polish to Johann Sebastian Bach’s six “Brandenburg” concertos on the opening night of their annual three-day New Year’s concert series, with repeat performances in Great Barrington, MA and Troy, NY.

The program was led by Eugene Drucker, Artistic Director of the ensemble (and a founding violinist of the Emerson String Quartet), whose twenty-two members this year ranged from veterans of several decades to six debuting players.

Kenneth Weisse

Bach wrote these concertos separately over five years but published them together in 1721 to fulfill an overdue commission for the Margrave (Governor) of Brandenburg. Each is written for a different combination of instruments and features multiple soloists. Usually sequenced for dramatic effect when played as a set, the first, fifth, and third concertos preceded an intermission, and the fourth, sixth, and second closed the concert.

First-time ensemble member Yevgeny Kutik was a fiery violin soloist in the large-scale first concerto. The fifth concerto featured virtuosic solo turns by three ensemble veterans: expressive violinist Laura Lutzke; elegant flutist Judith Mendenhall; and protean harpsichordist Kenneth Weiss, who dispatched the taxing first movement solo cadenza with dexterous aplomb. The third concerto, for strings alone, offered an expanded slow movement and lustrous solos from veteran violinists Drucker, Lutzke, and Brunilda Myftaraj.  

Weiss returned to close the intermission with an entrancing take on the beautiful slow aria that opens and closes Bach’s hour-long “Goldberg” Variations for solo keyboard. 

The fourth concerto opened the program’s second half with sprightly solo performances by violinist Drucker and flutists Mendenhall and Berkshire Bach veteran Alison Hale. The sixth concerto, scored for strings without violin and harpsichord, showcased graceful solos by veteran ensemble violists Liuh-Wen Ting and Ronald Gorevic, principal viola of the Springfield Symphony Orchestra. The second concerto, with standout solos by two more ensemble veterans, oboist Keve Wilson and trumpeter Maximilian Morel, ended the evening in a burst of joy.

The packed house loved every minute of this two-and-a-half-hour show in the warm Academy with exceptional acoustics. Kudos also go to double bassist Peter Weitzner for his resonant support throughout the concert and to Berkshire Bach Executive Director Terrill McDade for a model program book.

 

The Berkshire Bach Society next concert will be on February 8, 2025.

REVIEW: Berkshire Bach Society, "Bach at New Year’s"

Academy of Music, Northampton, MA

https://berkshirebach.org

December 30, 2023

by Michael J. Moran

This annual concert presented every New Year’s weekend in three Berkshire-area venues by
professional musicians from the region and beyond can always be counted on to send the old year out and welcome the new year in on a high note.

This year’s program, led by Eugene Drucker, Music Director of the seasoned sixteen-member Berkshire Bach Ensemble (and a founding violinist of the recently retired Emerson String Quartet), opened with a sprightly reading of Corelli’s so-called “Christmas” Concerto, inscribed “for the night of Christmas,” likely in 1690. The unusual closing pastorale was especially tender.

 

Kenneth Weiss then soloed in a lively account of Bach’s 1734 first concerto for harpsichord and orchestra, with a notably solemn central “Adagio” movement. Drucker (otherwise leading from the concertmaster’s chair) was next an expressive soloist in the same master’s 1730 violin concerto in A minor, where again the slow movement, this time marked “Andante,” made the deepest emotional impression.

Intermission featured an entertaining rarity, the five-movement 1728 “Gulliver Suite” for two violins by Bach’s friend Telemann, depicting episodes from Jonathan Swift’s then recent (1726) novel “Gulliver’s Travels.” Violists Ronald Gorevic and Liuh-Wen Ting played a transcription for two violas with humor and verve, including a stately “Lilliputian Chaconne” and a brisk “Brobdingnagian Gigue.”

Telemann’s concerto for two oboes and bassoon, “Concerto alla francese,” next showcased oboists Margaret Owens and Jessica Warren and bassoonist Stephen Walt as elegant soloists. Flutist Judith Mendenhall and violinist Michael Roth then soloed virtuosically in Handel’s 1734 Concerto Grosso, Op. 3/3, which offers, in Drucker’s words, “fugal writing that almost rivals Bach’s command of counterpoint.”

Next up was Biber’s wild-sounding, war-inspired 1673 suite “Battalia a 10,” whose “March” asks the double bass player to imitate the sound of a snare drum by placing a sheet of paper between the strings and the fingerboard, a move skillfully executed by Rick Ostrovsky. The concert closed with an exuberant performance of Bach’s second “Brandenburg” Concerto, which highlighted the clarion trumpet sound of Maximilian Morel.

This two-hour plus festival of Baroque music was further enhanced by the Academy’s warm yet clear acoustics. 

The Berkshire Bach Society next presents organist Renee Anne Louprette on February 10, 2024 at the Unitarian Universalist Meeting House in Housatonic, MA.

REVIEW: Berkshire Bach Society, "Bach at New Year’s"

Academy of Music, Northampton, MA 

https://berkshirebach.org

January 2, 2023 

by Michael J. Moran 

Eugene Drucker

The hope expressed by Eugene Drucker, Music Director of the 16-member Berkshire Bach Ensemble, that this concert of 12 pieces by five Baroque composers would inspire audience members “to enter the New Year with hope, joy, and a belief in the resilience of the human spirit” was brilliantly fulfilled by these distinguished musicians, many of whom have played together for years locally and beyond, Drucker is also a founding member of the Emerson String Quartet. 

  

Kenneth Weiss opened the concert with a lively account of Rameau’s “Overture to Dardanus” in his own transcription for harpsichord. Next, he soloed in an affectionate reading of Bach’s fifth concerto for harpsichord and orchestra. Drucker (otherwise leading from the concertmaster’s chair) then joined Laura Lutzke and Diane Bruce as vivid soloists in a concerto for three violins, strings, and continuo by Bach’s friend Telemann. 

After a perky “Arrival of the Queen of Sheba” from Handel’s opera “Solomon” by the ensemble, Drucker and oboist Keve Wilson were featured in a soulful rendition of Bach’s violin and oboe concerto. Maximilian Morel’s clarion trumpet closed the program’s first half with a thrilling performance of Telemann’s trumpet concerto in D Major.    

Intermission included two brief “intermezzi:” arrangements of the “Courante” from Bach’s fourth cello suite and the first “Allegro” from his second viola da gamba sonata played with elan respectively by violist Ronald Gorevic, and violist Liuh-Wen Ting with harpsichordist Weiss.   

Vivaldi’s concerto for violin and two cellos next showcased violinist Michael Roth and cellists Roberta Cooper and Alistair MacRae as animated soloists. Drucker and violinist Emily Daggett Smith then soloed expressively in Bach’s “double violin concerto.” And oboist Jessica Warren brought vibrant color to Telemann’s D Major oboe concerto.

The concert closed with an elegant version of Bach’s second orchestral suite, with, in Drucker’s words, its “perfectly proportioned and highly characterized dance movements,” and staggering virtuosity by flute soloist Judith Mendenhall. 

This two-and-a-half-hour feast for the ears of Baroque music lovers was further enriched by the Academy’s warm acoustics and exemplary program notes by Berkshire Bach Interim Executive Director Terrill McDade. Their next concert on February 11 is an organ recital by Renee Anne Louprette at the Unitarian Universalist Meeting House in Housatonic, MA.

Berkshire Bach Society

St. Luke’s Chamber Ensemble

Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center, Great Barrington, MA

www.mahaiwe.org

September 27, 2014

by Barbara Stroup

To kick-off their impressive 2014-2015 season, Berkshire Bach Society welcomed Fall with a fine group of musicians who are the artistic core of Orchestra of St. Luke’s in New York City.

In a concert called “Bridging the Baroque," the program began with Mozart and ended with Vivaldi. Featuring violinist Krista Feeney, Vivaldi’s "The Four Seasons" was fiery, fierce, and passionate without being frenetic. Feeney had total command of her instrument, which freed her to play with sincerity and respect for the many changes in tempo and virtuosity that the music required. Ms. Mann had a wonderful flute technique for the Bach Orchestral Suite as well. She chose dance-like tempi that seemed entirely appropriate, and it was a relief not to hear this music rushed. Both soloists' ability to apply vibrato with conservative restraint was wonderful to the ears.

The ensemble behind these two players shone just as brightly as the soloists did, anchored by an amazing bass section that gave distinction to that pivotal department. John Feeney, on bass, was as virtuosic as it is possible to be on that slow-responding instrument, never allowing the sound to be anything but clear and supportive, both to the soloists and to his cello and keyboard companions.

Accustomed to hearing these pieces played by a much larger ensemble, the music gained in St. Luke’s presentation by letting the middle lines through, and listeners could hear both the support and complexity of Louise Schulman’s viola.

The concert was a gem in the acoustically rich space that the Mahaiwe has become, and the appreciation for the venue - as well as for Berkshire Bach - was reflected in a nearly sold-out house.

Berkshire Bach Society is dedicated to sharing the vast and wonderful repertoire of music by Johann Sebastian Bach, his contemporaries, the composers who influenced his work and those he inspired to achieve musical timelessness. Berkshire Bach seeks to reach the broadest possible audience for the works of J.S. Bach and his musical peers, mentors and followers. Performances range from solo instrumental recitals to large choral works with full orchestra.