From a tribute sent by Stanley Ritchie’s family to EMA: “Liberating” is the term he used after switching from modern to Baroque violin, adding, “After playing so many years professionally as a [modern] violinist, I found playing Baroque violin akin to driving a sports car!” A memorial celebration is planned for April, 2027.
Stanley Ritchie: A Family Remembrance Read More »
The debut recording from South Carolina-born harpsichordist Gabriel Smallwood asks who made the young J.S. Bach. Smallwood is imaginative and technically assured in pieces mostly in the North German style with its free, episodic forms, its dense counterpoint, and its long, improvisatory flourishes.
Music Fit for a Teenage Bach Read More »
Harmonia Stellarum Houston, opening its fifth season next week, focuses on music from the Holy Roman Empire, often mixing Central European classics with recently unearthed treasures.
The Stars Align in Houston Read More »
Based in the Netherlands, the remarkable Butter Quartet research and perform music from the late 18th and early 19th c., with rewarding adventures into modern works — all on period instruments. Their latest album includes string quartets by Haydn and Caroline Shaw.
Drama, Humor, Technicolor from the Butter Quartet Read More »
With two new recordings this year, the lautenwerk — an obscure, gut-stringed, mellow keyboard instrument sometimes called a “lute-harpsichord” — is having its moment. J.S. Bach owned two of them. Wolfgang Rübsam’s latest recording, of Bach’s didactic Inventions and Sinfonias, is a natural fit.
A Lautenwerk Revival Takes Shape Read More »
