Bach music festival entertains Philly

By Jen McShane
Collegian Staff
March 19, 2007

Johann Sebastian Bach, a famous composer of baroque music, has contributed considerably to the history of music. It is for his hard work that Bach’s contributions to the chamber music world are still widely recognized and celebrated today. The week-long Bach music festival in Philadelphia is internationally known as one of the best and largest Johann Sebastian Bach tributes worldwide.

The 2008 Bach festival kicked off March 14 with a presentation of Bach’s “Concerto for Four Pianos.” At this well-known event, four grand pianos graced the stage, a feat not often seen on stages worldwide.

Philadelphia joins in this celebration of Bach “to attract and enlighten enthusiastic, loyal and diverse audiences from around the world,” according to festival director Jonathan Sternberg. The Philadelphia festival always takes place during the week of Bach’s birthday, March 21. One of the goals of the festival is to promote Bach, as well as other types of music from his lifetime, to the current generations.

“We hope to develop successful new vehicles—educational, social, technological and spiritual—for presenting Johann Sebastian Bach’s music,” said Sternberg.

Perhaps the best way to celebrate Bach’s work is to continue showcasing it with internationally famous musicians. Philadelphia’s week-long festival includes performances of Bach’s foremost pieces by some of the world’s best baroque performers. Rebecca Maurer, internationally known for her harp playing, performed some of Bach’s compositions March 15 at St. Peter’s Church. While Maurer performed a great number of Bach compositions, the show truly focused on the development of the baroque style of music, spanning almost 600 years. Another local group, the Choral Arts Society Chamber Choir of Philadelphia, performed March 16, executing the complete motets of Bach. This performance was more vocal then instrumental, demonstrating Bach’s ability in writing music for instrumental pieces, as well as vocal.

March 16 was also the annual Bach Birthday Gala. Every year, Philadelphians and people from all over the world gather at this gala to celebrate Bach. Dinner was served, with Bach compositions playing in background by Valentin Radu, Sarah Davol, Tatyana Galitskaya and Tatyana Rashkovsky. The gala also featured trivia about Bach, including little known facts about the master of baroque music.

Other events during the week included two lectures by Andrew Rangell of Boston. Rangell, considered an expert on Bach, also gave performances during his lecture to prove a point, or to use as examples. One lecture took place March 17, while the other occurred March 18, and was aimed specifically to children and high school students. Rangell lectured on the history of Bach, using music, narration and pictures.

There are still Bach events occurring that interested La Salle students can attend. All of Bach’s Brandeburg concertos will be performed at Haverford High School by the Philadelphia Chamber of Orchestra March 22; the concert will feature other famous performers as well. Longwood Gardens will host the Copeland string quartet from Delaware with a performance in the gardens March 23.

mcshanej2@lasalle.edu