News stories tagged with "bach"

(03/23/12) Some of Johann Sebastian Bach's most outstanding compositions will be performed in St. Lawrence University's Gunnison Memorial Chapel during the Third Annual Bach Marathon on Saturday.

Music historians agree that for Bach, an early 18th century German composer who wrote over a thousand compositions, music making was natural. Marathon organizers say they want Saturday's audience to gain a new sense of the freshness and vitality of familiar Bach pieces.

Organist Donald Sutherland has been artist-in-residence this week at St. Lawrence University, offering recitals and lectures. His visit culminates with a performance Saturday night during the marathon.

Todd Moe spoke with him about new ways to think about Bach as a human being with a great gift, and how his music is still vibrant more than 300 years later.

(03/09/12) One of Canada's top choirs celebrates its tenth season with a performance in Ottawa Saturday night. The Ottawa Bach Choir has performed its brand of Baroque music around the world and had its Carnegie Hall debut last May. Todd Moe talks with the ensemble's founder and Artistic Director Lisette Canton about Saturday night's performance of Bach's St. Matthew Passion -- an authentic Baroque concert featuring an array of Canadian and international early music stars.

(01/19/12) The Canadian play, 2 Pianos, 4 Hands, has played on five continents and in more than 150 cities since it first opened 15 years ago. Its success worldwide is due to its universal themes of dreams and discipline.

The set consists of two grand pianos, and the cast is just two actors. It's a simple show, ostensibly about piano lessons, that's moving, profound and lots of fun. It was written and first performed by Ted Dykstra and Richard Greenblatt, both brilliant actors and pianists. They're back on stage at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa this month for the farewell tour.

2 Pianos, 4 Hands continues through Saturday, January 28th at the National Arts Centre's English Theatre. NCPR's resident theater critic Connie Meng and Todd Moe share a review of the show.

(10/12/11) One of Canada's top choirs kicks off its tenth season with a performance in Ottawa tonight. The Ottawa Bach Choir has performed its brand of Baroque music around the world and had its Carnegie Hall debut last May. Todd Moe talks with the ensemble's founder and Artistic Director Lisette Canton.

(04/29/11) The Crane School of Music kicks off its 125th anniversary this weekend with its Spring Festival Concert in Hosmer Hall. Internationally acclaimed conductor Maestro Helmuth Rilling will direct the Crane Chorus and Crane Symphony Orchestra in a performance Saturday night (7:30) in Hosmer Concert Hall of Bach's Mass in B-Minor. It's a giant piece hailed by many to be the most perfect of musical compositions. Maestro Rilling, one of the world's preeminent interpreters of Bach, is known around the world for his work with choirs and orchestras. Todd Moe has a preview.

(07/16/08) Cellist Jonathan Tortolano returns to his home state Saturday for a recital at the Commmunity Church in Stowe (noon). Tortolano grew up in Vermont, studied with renowned cellist Elsa Hilger and lived and performed in Europe for years. He now lives in Toronto and regularly performs with orchestras across the region, including the Orchestra of Northern New York. He told Todd Moe that his recital on Saturday will include a solo suite by Bach, a work by George Crumb, and a new piece for cello.