Beethoven's 9th Symphony Opens Boston Baroque's 40th Season Tonight

Boston Baroque and its Founder/Music Director, Martin Pearlman, have chosen to acknowledge a monumental moment in their history with a monument of music: Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony No. 9, popularly known as the "Choral" Symphony, which concludes with the uplifting Ode to Joy.

The opening concerts of Boston Baroque's 40th Anniversary Season will offer the ensemble's first-ever performances of Beethoven's last symphony, paired with his rarely-heard Elegischer Gesang (Elegiac Song). The Boston Baroque Chorus and Orchestra will be joined by vocal soloists Leah Partridge (soprano), Ann McMahon Quintero (mezzo-soprano), William Burden (tenor) and Kevin Deas (bass) for performances on Friday, November 8 and Saturday, November 9 at 8 PM at New England Conservatory's Jordan Hall, 30 Gainsborough Street, Boston.

"Boston Baroque's perspective on Beethoven's Ninth Symphony will be different from that of a modern symphony orchestra," says Martin Pearlman. "An orchestra that performs Mahler and Strauss looks back when it plays Beethoven, whereas Boston Baroque, approaching the work from an early music perspective - as, indeed, did the musicians of Beethoven's time - can offer a forward look. Our performance will emphasize the revolutionary aspects of Beethoven's achievement; he stretched the instruments of the orchestra - and voices, too - to their limits. Take some of the woodwind and horn passages, for example: we are used to hearing them played on modern instruments, where they are impressive enough; but on period instruments, such as natural horns, you can really feel Beethoven stretching them to their utmost, producing a sound and color quite wonderful and different."

Mr. Pearlman continues, "Expanding our repertoire to the threshold of the modern orchestra with Beethoven's Ninth - the onlyone of his symphonies that we have not yet performed - seemed a fitting way to celebrate our 40th anniversary...even as we look back, we look forward."

GIVING BACK TO THE COMMUNITY

Sunday, November 10, 2013, 2 PM, Strand Theatre, Dorchester

"Freude! Freude!... "Joy! Joy!...

Deine Zauber binden wieder Your magic brings together

Was die Mode streng geteilt; What custom has sternly divided;

Alle Menschen werden Brüder, All men shall become brothers,

Wo dein sanfter Flügel weilt." Wherever your gentle wings hover."

Honoring the spirit of Friedrich Schiller's Ode an die Freude (Ode to Joy), the text Beethoven chose for the finale, Boston Baroque will present a free performance of the Ninth Symphony for the Boston community, at the historic 1400-seat Strand Theatre, 543 Columbia Road in Dorchester, on Sunday, November 10 at 2 PM. The concert, sponsored by Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino, who will serve as host, and the City of Boston's Office of Arts, Tourism and Special Events, is also made possible by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Free For All Concert Fund.

Boston Baroque's Executive Director, Miguel Rodriguez says, "For our 40th Anniversary Season, we look forward to expanding Boston Baroque's presence beyond the traditional concert hall by presenting an accessible program with period instruments to new audiences and communities in urban Boston."

"Beethoven's Ninth Symphony is the perfect vehicle to give back to the community," adds Martin Pearlman, "and we are committed to making this an annual event."

"I'm proud of all the hard work that's gone into the renovation and re-opening of the Strand," Mayor Menino says. "Organizations are recognizing the Strand as an important venue for the performing arts and a valuable resource for all the people of Boston. I'm pleased to welcome Boston Baroque for its performance of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, as it celebrates its 40th anniversary."

BOSTON BAROQUE 40TH ANNIVERSARY SEASON:

OPENING CONCERTS

Tonight, November 8 and Saturday, November 9, 2013 at 8 PM

Pre-concert talk with Laura Stanfield Prichard at 7 PM

Beethoven: Elegischer Gesang (Elegiac Song);

Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125 ("Choral")

Leah Partridge, soprano • Ann McMahon Quintero, mezzo-soprano

William Burden, tenor • Kevin Deas, bass

NEC's Jordan Hall, 30 Gainsborough Street, Boston, MA

Tickets, starting at $35, at http://www.bostonbaroque.org or by calling 617/987-8600

NEC's Jordan Hall is wheelchair accessible.

Sunday, November 10, 2013 at 2 PM

A FREE CONCERT FOR THE BOSTON COMMUNITY

Celebrating Boston Baroque's 40 Years

Hosted by Mayor Thomas M. Menino

Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125 ("Choral")

Leah Partridge, soprano • Ann McMahon Quintero, mezzo-soprano

William Burden, tenor • Kevin Deas, bass

Strand Theatre, 543 Columbia Road, Dorchester, MA

FREE, reserved-seat tickets available at the Strand Theatre Box Office or by calling 617/635-1403

About Boston Baroque: Boston Baroque is the first permanent Baroque orchestra established in North America and is widely regarded as being among the world's leading period-instrument ensembles. Founded in 1973 as Banchetto Musicale by Music Director Martin Pearlman, the Boston Baroque orchestra is made up of some of the finest period-instrument players in the U.S.; they are frequently joined by the company's professional chorus and by instrumental and vocal soloists from around the world. The ensemble presents an annual subscription series of five programs that are performed at New England Conservatory's Jordan Hall or Harvard University's Sanders Theatre, plus occasional additional concerts at other venues.

Boston Baroque also reaches an audience of millions of listeners around the globe with more than 20 critically-acclaimed recordings, which have been recognized with three Grammy nominations. With the 2012 release of Haydn's Creation, Boston Baroque began a new recording relationship with the audiophile European label Linn Records, named by Gramophone as Label of the Year in 2010.

Boston Baroque made an acclaimed appearance in 2009 with two programs at the Casals Festival in Puerto Rico, and performed Monteverdi's Vespers of 1610 to a sold-out crowd and standing ovation in New York's Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine in March 2010. The ensemble made its European debut in 2003, performing Handel's Messiah to capacity crowds in Krakow and Warsaw, Poland, and toured the Vespers to Los Angeles' Walt Disney Concert Hall, the Ravinia Festival in Chicago, and Tanglewood in 2004.

About Martin Pearlman: Martin Pearlman, founder and continuing Music Director of Boston Baroque, is a conductor, harpsichordist, composer and early-music specialist, and is one of America's leading interpreters of Baroque and Classical music. Highlights of his work include the complete Monteverdi opera cycle, with his own new performing editions of The Coronation of Poppea and The Return of Ulysses; the American premiere of Rameau's Zoroastre; Gluck's Iphigénie en Tauride and Alceste; a survey of Beethoven symphonies on period instruments; major Handel operas including Alcina, Agrippina, Semele, Xerxes and Partenope; and a Mozart series includingAbduction from the Seraglio, The Magic Flute, Marriage of Figaro, Così fan tutte and the North American period instrument premiere of Don Giovanni.

Mr. Pearlman made his Kennedy Center debut with The Washington Opera in Handel's Semele, and has guest conducted the National Arts Centre Orchestra of Ottawa, Utah Opera, Opera Columbus, Boston Lyric Opera, Minnesota Orchestra, San Antonio Symphony and New World Symphony. Recent compositions by Mr. Pearlman include The Creation according to Orpheus for solo piano, harp, percussion and string orchestra; and music for three plays of Samuel Beckett, commissioned by and premiered at New York's 92nd Street Y and performed in Cambridge in 2007. Writing in the Boston Globe, Anthony Tommasini said: "If fans of Boston Baroque wonder why Pearlman's conducting is so insightful, it's because he knows, as only a composer can, how music goes."

Mr. Pearlman is Professor of Music in Historical Performance at the Boston University School of Music.

About Leah Partridge: Soprano Leah Partridge makes her debut with Boston Baroque. She has received consistent praise worldwide for her compelling stage presence and intelligent interpretations of opera's most beloved characters. Opera Magazine has praised her for her "clarity, accuracy and poise," and the Detroit Free Press has hailed her for her "lovely presence and shining voice." Since making her debut in 2003 as Lucia in Lucia di Lammermoor, Ms. Partridge has had a career full of remarkable milestones. Her Metropolitan Opera debut came in 2008 as the First Niece in Peter Grimes followed by a return engagement as La Charmeuse in Thaïs. Both roles were part of the MET's Live in HD broadcasts and were released on DVD on EMI. In 2010, Ms. Partridge performed Marie in La fille du Régiment with the Metropolitan Opera to great acclaim as a last minute replacement and the performance was captured live on Sirius Satellite Radio.

About Ann McMahon Quintero: Praised for her "crème caramel tones" and "warm and ingratiating mezzo" by the Albuquerque Journal, Ann McMahon Quintero's 2012-13 season included Mary in Der fliegende Holländer in a return to Boston Lyric Opera, Amneris in Aida with Annapolis Opera and mezzo soloist in Messiah with Boston Baroque, under Martin Pearlman. She made her debut with the Spoleto Festival (USA) as Suor Pazienza in Giordano's Messe Mariano in summer 2013 and, in season 2013-14, with Virginia Opera, as Mistress Quickly in Verdi's Falstaff.

About William Burden: Also making his debut with Boston Baroque, American tenor William Burden has won an outstanding reputation in a wide-ranging repertoire throughout Europe and North America. He has appeared at the Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Houston Grand Opera, Seattle Opera, Opera Company of Philadelphia, Santa Fe Opera, New York City Opera, La Scala, Glyndebourne Opera Festival, Paris Opera, Munich State Opera, Canadian Opera and the Saito Kinen Festival. His many roles include the title roles of Faust, Pelléas et Mélisande, Orphée et Eurydice, The Rake's Progress, Roméo et Juliette andBéatrice and Bénédict, Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor, Aschenbach in Death in Venice, Captain Vere in Billy Budd, Don José inCarmen and the Male Chorus in The Rape of Lucretia. He also appeared in the U.S. premiere of Henze's Phaedra at the Opera Company of Philadelphia and created roles in Tobias Picker's An American Tragedy at the Metropolitan Opera, Christopher Theofanidis' Heart of a Soldier at the San Francisco Opera, Kevin Puts' Pulitzer Prize-winning Silent Night at the Minnesota Opera and Daron Hagen's Amelia at the Seattle Opera.

About Kevin Deas: Kevin Deas has gained international acclaim as one of America's leading basses. Lauded for his "burnished sound, clarity of diction and sincerity of expression" and "fervent intensity" by Chicago Tribune critic John von Rhein, Deas has been variously called "exemplary" by the Denver Post, "especially fine" by the Washington Post and possessing "a resourceful range of expression" by The Cincinnati Enquirer. He is perhaps most acclaimed for his signature portrayal of the title role in Porgy and Bess, having sung it with the New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, National Symphony, the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, the San Francisco, Atlanta, San Diego, Utah, Houston, Minnesota, Baltimore and Montreal symphonies as well as at the Ravinia and Saratoga festivals.

Pictured: Martin Pearlman. Photo Credit: Patrick O'Connor.

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