Handel and Haydn Society Announces Celebration 2009
Premier chorus and period-instrument orchestra presents Celebration 2009, commemorating 250th and 200th anniversaries of deaths of Handel and Haydn. Musical offerings include all-Handel program conducted by Harry Christophers; the Societys 155th annual performance of Handels Messiah, led by Paul Daniel; and two Haydn programs conducted by Sir Roger Norrington, including concert performance of the seldom heard Haydn opera Lanima del filosofo.
Celebration 2009 culminates in free, outdoor performance of Haydns masterwork, The Creation, on Bostons Esplanade, on May 31, 2009, conducted by Grant Llewellyn.
Celebratory season demonstrates renewed community commitment with the launch of cultural and educational partnerships throughout the greater Boston area.
July 16, 2008 (Updated: September 9, 2008) (Boston, MA)The Handel and Haydn Society, Americas oldest continuously-performing arts organization, marks an important musical anniversary year with Celebration 2009, in observance of anniversaries of the deaths of George Friderick Handel (1685April 14, 1759) and Franz Joseph Haydn (1732May 31, 1809), as well as the births of Henry Purcell (16591695) and Felix Mendelssohn (18091847). The Handel and Haydn Societys celebratory season features music of these four composers, as well as of Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, and Brahms. In addition to Artistic Advisor Sir Roger Norrington and Principal Conductor Grant Llewellyn, the Society welcomes back regular guest conductor Harry Christophers, and the Societys Associate Conductor and Chorusmaster, John Finney. Celebration 2009 will culminate on May 31, 2009, with a free concert of Haydns masterwork The Creation on Bostons Esplanade.
During the 2008-2009 season, the Handel and Haydn Society bolsters its tradition of community outreach, presenting performances, forums, and educational programs through newly developed partnerships with leading area universities and colleges, and unprecedented collaborations with some of Bostons finest cultural institutions. The Celebration 2009 project is intended to generate civic dialogue around the role of great music, past and present. When the Handel and Haydn Society was founded in 1815, its stated purpose was to perform the best of the old and the newrepresented by Handel (considered at the time a composer of an earlier age) and Haydn (a relatively new composer who had passed away just a few years earlier). The 2009 anniversary year enables the Society to commemorate its namesake composers in a relevant and entertaining way; it also presents an important opportunity to translate the Societys historical charter to the 21st century, and to develop a performing arts model for engaging audiences in the role of classical musicpast, present, and futurein their lives and their communities.
Celebratory season of both well-known and rarely-heard repertoire features renowned conductors along with established and emerging soloists
The 2008-2009 season features important works of the past and the present, from Haydns rarely heard opera Lanima del filosofo (Orfeo ed Euridice) and his authoritative The Creation, to music for the theater by Purcell, to a new work by Boston composer Thomas Vignieri that reflects on the influence of Handel. The Society has engaged conductors of international renown to lead energetic programs throughout the season; in addition to Artistic Advisor Norrington and Principal Conductor Llewellyn, and Harry Christophers (Music Director of The Sixteen) with whom Handel and Haydn has enjoyed an acclaimed partnership over the past three years, the Society welcomes to the podium period specialists Richard Egarr, Paul Daniel, Paul Goodwin, and Jean-Marie Zeitouni in their debuts with Handel and Haydn. Soloists include distinguished singers Sarah Coburn, Nathalie Paulin, Kendra Colton, and Andrew Kennedy, cellist Phoebe Carrai and Russian violinist Ilya Gringolts in his Boston debut, as well as rising young performers such as mezzo-soprano Paula Murrihy, who began her solo career with the Handel and Haydn Society.
Free community concert on Boston Esplanade on May 31, 2009, features Haydns Creation
The Society will perform a free, outdoor concert for the City of Boston, featuring Principal Conductor Grant Llewellyn conducting the Handel and Haydn period-instrument ensemble and chorus in Haydns masterwork The Creation. Held on Bostons famed Esplanade, which has a capacity for more than 16,000 people, this community event is planned for broadcast with the potential of reaching several hundred thousand more people throughout the United States. This marks the third time the Society has performed on the Esplanade, the last time in 1990. A pre-concert performance will showcase the Handel and Haydn Youth Choruses, now in their 24th year.
This event holds significance for two reasons: Handel and Haydn Society performed the American premiere of The Creation in 1819; additionally, while preparation for celebrations of the 2009 musical anniversaries has been underway in Great Britain and Europe for some time, Handel and Haydn is uniquely positioned to take the lead on an American observance. The Society is one of the only music organizations in the United States to take part in an international observance of the 200th anniversary of Haydns death on May 31, 2009, when The Creation will be performed on the same day around the world by other renowned ensembles.
Society expands Educational and Community Outreach Programs
In the 2008-2009 season, Handel and Haydn will invigorate its educational and community outreach programs with expanded programs, venues, and access for children and adults. As part of Celebration 2009, Handel and Haydn will offer the children and schools it currently serves even greater access to music and music education, and will also reach new people in the community, by giving free performances and musical demonstrations in public spaces, such as the Boston Public Library, the Museum of Fine Arts, the Boston Athenaeum, and other collaborating venues. Celebration 2009 will also build on the Societys use of electronic media in recent seasons by using podcasts; music, conductors insights, and lectures on the Societys website; and video broadcasts as an important educational and audience-development tool. Handel and Haydn Society will make a live recording of Lanima del filosofo under Sir Roger Norrington on the Signum Records label for release in May 2009, commemorating the anniversary of the composers death.
In Celebration 2009, the Society also explores new and enhanced partnerships with New England Conservatory, Longy School of Music, Northeastern University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Tufts University to train the players and singers of the future in Baroque and Classical performance styles and techniques through masterclasses, symposia, interaction with professional conductors and musicians, access to rehearsals and performances, and collaborations between musicians and music faculty. These partnerships are the first step toward the Handel and Haydn Academy, a pre-professional period-performance training program that the Society plans to launch in the 2009-2010 season.
This expanded outreach draws on the Societys longstanding tradition in the community, dating back to the 19th century when the Society organized large-scale charity events and made great music available to the people of Boston. Over the past 24 years, Handel and Haydns award-winning Educational Outreach Program, founded in 1984 to address the lack of music education in public school systems due to funding cuts, has grown significantly and won accolades for bringing vocal training and performance opportunities to thousands of children in some of Greater Bostons most disadvantaged neighborhoods.
Interdisciplinary collaborations with American and international music organizations
In addition to its cultural and educational partners in Boston, Handel and Haydn will also partner in 2008-2009 with the Haydn Festival in Eisenstadt, Austria, at which Handel and Haydn performed in September 2006, and which is organizing the worldwide performances of The Creation on May 31, 2009; the Haydn Society of North America, dedicated to promoting the legacy of Haydn; and Handel House Museum in London, with whom the Society has a longstanding relationship. Handel and Haydn Society has named the president of the Haydn Society of North America, Dr. Michael Ruhling, its 2008-2009 HIP Fellow (program annotator and scholarly contributor to Handel and Haydns musical programs); Handel and Haydn also partners with Longy School of Music to host the Haydn Society of North Americas 2009 conference, which takes place in Cambridge and Boston, MA, the week of May 25, 2009, and will close with the outdoor performance of The Creation.
HANDEL AND HAYDN SOCIETY 2008-2009 SEASON CALENDAR
1. Masterclass with Harry Christophers
Monday, September 29 at 4.30pm
Tufts University
Harry Christophers coaches the Tufts University Choir on the Faur Requiem.
2. Celebrate Handel! Sponsored by Sasso Restaurant & Bar
Friday, October 3 at 8pm
Sunday, October 5 at 3pm
Symphony Hall
Harry Christophers, conductor
Gillian Keith, soprano
Handel and Haydn Society Chorus
Handel: Coronation Anthems; Arrival of the Queen of Sheba (from Solomon); Selections from Jephtha and Semele
3. Community Performance: Rose Kennedy Greenway Inaugural Celebration
Saturday, October 4 (Time: TBA)
Handel and Haydn Young Womens Chorus
Handel and Haydn Young Womens Chorusone of the Societys four youth chorusesperforms at the Mothers Walk Dedication Ceremony for the Rose Kennedy Greenway.
4. Reception at Somerset Club
Saturday, October 4 from 6.30-8pm
Somerset Club, 42 Beacon Street
Hosted by Nick Gleysteen, Wat Tyler, and Robert Scott
5. Community Event: Opening Our Doors
Monday, October 13 from 10am-4pm
Handel and Haydn Society Performance at 2pm
Mary Baker Eddy Library/First Church of Christ, Scientist Plaza
The Fenway Alliance hosts a full day of open events and short performances for Huntington Avenue- and Fenway-area academic, cultural, and arts organizations. Experience a live performance on period-instruments, with a demonstration on the differences between modern and historical instruments. Discover the breadth of vocal training programs offered by the Society to Boston-area youth, and meet some of our promising young vocal talent.
6. Handel and Haydn at Boston Public Library
Friday, October 31 at 6pm
Boston Public Library
Members of Handel and Haydn and guests discuss Handels Messiah and compare recordings, while discovering the treasures hidden in the rare books collection of the Boston Public Library.
7. Haydns Legacy: Mozart and Beethoven
Friday, November 7 at 8pm
Sunday, November 9 at 3pm
Symphony Hall
Richard Egarr, conductor & fortepiano
Mozart: Symphony No. 1 in E-flat Major, K. 16; Piano Concerto No. 23 in A Major, K. 488
Beethoven: Creatures of Prometheus Overture; Symphony No. 8 in F Major, Op. 93
8. Messiah
Friday, December 5 at 7.30pm
Saturday, December 6 at 3pm
Sunday, December 7 at 3pm
Symphony Hall
Paul Daniel, conductor
Kendra Colton, soprano
Paula Murrihy, mezzo-soprano
Brian Stucki, tenor
Brett Polegato, baritone
Handel and Haydn Society Chorus
9. A Bach Christmas Sponsored by Boston Private Bank & Trust Company
Thursday, December 18 at 8pm
Sunday, December 21 at 3pm
New England Conservatorys Jordan Hall
John Finney, conductor
Handel and Haydn Society Chorus
Bach: Magnificat, BWV 243; Cantata No. 151, Ser Trost, mein Jesus kmmt; Cantata No. 191, Gloria in excelsis Deo
10. Haydns Orfeo
Friday, January 23 at 8pm
Sunday, January 25 at 3pm
Symphony Hall
Sir Roger Norrington, conductor
Sarah Coburn, Euridice
Andrew Kennedy, Orfeo
Christopher Maltman, Creonte
Handel and Haydn Society Chorus
Haydn: Lanima del filosofo (Orfeo ed Euridice)
11. The Haydn Experience Symposium
Saturday, January 24 at 1.30pm (time subject to change)
New England Conservatory
Sir Roger Norrington and Haydn scholars discuss the myth of Orfeo and Lanima del filosofo. Members of the Handel and Haydn Society join in a chamber music performance of Haydns works.
12. Handel and Haydn at Boston Public Library
Friday, February 20 at 6pm
Boston Public Library
Members of Handel and Haydn and guests discuss Handels Messiah and compare recordings, while discovering the treasures hidden in the media collection of the Boston Public Library.
13. Baroque Grand Tour
Friday, February 27 at 8pm
Sunday, March 1 at 3pm
New England Conservatorys Jordan Hall
Paul Goodwin, conductor
Handel and Haydn Society Chorus
Couperin: Concert dans le got thtral
Purcell: Funeral Sentences; The Masque from Dioclesian
Bach: Brandenburg Concerto, No. 3
14. Noon Concert at the Boston Athenaeum
Thursday, March 5 at 12.15pm
Boston Athenaeum
Musicians from Handel and Haydn play Haydn Trios and discuss the legacy of the great composer.
15. Romantic Brahms
March 20 at 8pm
March 22 at 8pm
Symphony Hall
Grant Llewellyn, conductor
Ilya Gringolts, violin
Handel and Haydn Society Chorus
Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto in E Minor, Op. 64
Brahms: Symphony No. 1 in C Minor
Vignieri: Fanfare for Voices (Tribute to Handel; World Premiere)
16. Music at Fever Pitch
Friday, April 3 at 8pm at Old South Church
Sunday, April 5 at 3pm at New England Conservatorys Jordan Hall
Jean-Marie Zeitouni, conductor
Phoebe Carrai, cello
Telemann: Burlesque de Don Quixote
C.P.E. Bach: Cello Concerto in A Major
Handel: Concerto Grosso in G Minor, Op. 6, No. 6
Rebel: Les Elmens
17. Haydn in London
Friday, April 24 at 8pm
Sunday, April 26 at 3pm
Symphony Hall
Sir Roger Norrington, conductor
Nathalie Paulin, soprano
Haydn: Symphony No. 99 in E-flat Major; Scena di Berenice, cantata for soprano and orchestra; March for the Prince of Wales; Adagio from Divertimento for nine instruments in F Major; English Songs: Sailor's Song, Sympathy, She Never Told Her Love, Fidelity; Symphony No. 92 in G Major, Oxford
18. Haydn Symposium
Saturday, April 25 at 1.30pm (time subject to change)
Location: TBA
Sir Roger Norrington and Haydn scholars discuss Haydns London period and its influence on his later work. Members of the Handel and Haydn Society join in a chamber music performance of Haydns works.
19. Gala Benefit: The Society Ball
Saturday, April 25 at 6.30pm
Mandarin Oriental Hotel
The Society Ball features music, dance and auction to benefit the artistic and educational initiatives of Handel and Haydn Society.
20. Haydn: The Creation
Sunday, May 31 at 3pm
The Hatch Shell on the Esplanade, Boston (Rain Location: Symphony Hall)
Grant Llewellyn, conductor
Elizabeth Watts, soprano
Stanford Olsen, tenor
Eric Owens, bass
Handel and Haydn Society Chorus
Pre-concert performance by the Handel and Haydn Society Youth Choruses
All programs and artists are subject to change.
20082009 Season Subscription Information
Now on sale, subscriptions ($45-$527) may be purchased through the Handel and Haydn Box Office 1) by phone at 617 266 3605, 2) online at www.handelandhaydn.org, or 3) in person at the Handel and Haydn office, Horticultural Hall, 300 Massachusetts Avenue, Boston (M-F 10.00 am - 6.00 pm). Single tickets go on sale September 2, 2008.
The Handel and Haydn Society is a professional chorus and period-instrument orchestra and an internationally recognized leader in the field of historically-informed performance. Founded in Boston in 1815, the Society is the oldest continuously performing arts organization in the United States, with a long history of innovation: it gave the American premieres of Handels Messiah (1818), Haydns The Creation (1819), Verdis Requiem (1878), Bachs Mass in B Minor (1887), and Bachs St. Matthew Passion (1889). The Society today, under the leadership of Artistic Advisor Sir Roger Norrington, Principal Conductor Grant Llewellyn, and Conductor Laureate Christopher Hogwood, is committed to its mission to perform Baroque and Classical music at the highest levels of artistic excellence and to share that music with as large and diverse an audience as possible. The Massachusetts Cultural Council has lauded the organization for its willingness to take risks and explore new musical horizons.
Labels: 2008-09 season, handel, haydn
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