Thu 10/9 @ 7:30PM
Fri 10/10 @ 8PM
Sat 10/11 @ 8PM
Sun 10/12 @ 4PM
Johann Sebastian Bach, the greatest of baroque composers, turns 330 on March 31 of next year. But Cleveland is starting the celebration early.
Apollo’s Fire, Cleveland’s baroque orchestra, is first out of the box (The Cleveland Orchestra kicks off its Bach celebration next week) with its program “Bach’s Birthday Party Part 1: Orchestral Fireworks,” which opens its 2014-2015 season.
The program features three J.S. Bach compositions: Concerto in C minor for Two Harpsichords, Violin Concerto in E major, and Orchestral Suite No. 2 in B minor for Flute & Strings, plus his son C.P.E. Bach’s Symphony in B minor.
Joe Gascho and Apollo’s Fire founder and artistic director Jeannette Sorrell will be the harpsichord soloists; Kathie Stewart plays the flute in the Orchestral Suite, and Olivier Brault is the soloist in the violin concerto.
The orchestra will perform the program four times — on Thu 10/9 at Fairlawn Lutheran Church, on Fri 10/10 and Sat 10/11 at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Cleveland Heights, and on Sun 10/12 at Rocky River Presbyterian Church. Following Thursday’s and Friday’s concerts, there’ll be a Q&A session with the musicians.
Tickets are $20-$68.
You may have guessed by the title of this program that there’s more Bach to come in this Apollo’s Fire season. There’ll also be Monteverdi, Handel, Vivialdi, Gregorian chant, and Celtic fiddle tunes. Check out the whole season here.
apollosfire.org/bachs-birthday-party