Proms Chamber Music 2 - 28.07.14

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Monday, 28 July
1.00 p.m. – c. 2.00 p.m.
Cadogan Hall

Baroque violinist Rachel Podger is joined by hand-picked musical friends to explore the contrasts and contradictions of CPE Bach, who celebrates his 300th anniversary this year. The composer's Sonata in C minor in particular offers an extraordinary musical portrait of the most musically rebellious of the younger Bachs.

CPE Bach: Trio Sonata in A major, Wq 146
CPE Bach: Violin Sonata in C minor, Wq 78
CPE Bach: Keyboard Sonata in E minor ('Kenner und Liebhaber' Collection No. 5), Wq 59/1
CPE Bach: Trio Sonata in C minor, 'Sanguineus and Melancholicus', for two violins and bass, Wq 161/1

Rachel Podger (violin)
Katy Bircher (flute)
Bojan Cicic (violin)
Tomasz Pokrzywinski (cello)
Kristian Bezuidenhout (fortepiano)

This year marks the 300th anniversary of the birth of Carl Philipp Emmanuel Bach. Second son of JS Bach and godson of Georg Philipp Telemann, he was also the most musically rebellious of the younger Bachs, propelling music from the Baroque style of his father's time into the Classical era. When Mozart wrote, 'Bach is the father, we the children', he was referring not to Johann Sebastian but Carl Philipp Emmanuel.
Baroque violinist Rachel Podger is joined by musical friends in a programme to explore the weird and wonderful musical world of this fascinating musician. At its core is the extraordinary and unpredented C minor Trio Sonata - an instrumental dialogue between a 'sanguine' man and a 'melancholic', in which each tries to persuade the other to change his mood.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

When labelled a baroque violinist, this isn't just type-casting. She really does play a baroque violin, made in 1739 by Pesarinius.

[Serial_Apologist]

Bar rock and barker roll.

I'm going to try and make this concert. Anyone fancy meeting up? There's a nice little hostelry around the corner. Feel free to send a PM.

[doversoul1]

C.P.E. Bach

Tomorrow at 1.00pm

Incidentally, two more 'early music' concerts are coming up this week: Rameau's Motets (Tuesday 10.00pm) and Greek Myths (Saturday 3.00pm). That’ll be about that for early music concerts in this year’s Proms. I’m not too sure about a staged St Matthew Passion.

[doversoul1]

A lovely concert. The phrase 'music making' really made sense.

[Serial_Apologist]

Alas, I should have gone! A heavy weekend made me forget it was on.

[Sir Velo]

Bumping this one. Still time if you haven't already caught it to enjoy one of the most sparkling performances of Bach's E minor keyboard sonata you're likely to hear this side of the grave. Crystal clear articulation coupled with poise and feeling on a delectable instrument.

[Serial_Apologist]

Bumping this one. Still time if you haven't already caught it to enjoy one of the most sparkling performances of Bach's E minor keyboard sonata you're likely to hear this side of the grave. Crystal clear articulation coupled with poise and feeling on a delectable instrument.

I listened today and kept wondering: is it correct to be playing CPE Bach with so much rubato? Or did this argument go out when Beethoven started being played with regular rallentandi and accelerandi a couple of decades or so ago, to my father's utter horror? I kept on thinking I was hearing Schumann!

[bluestateprommer]

A lovely concert. The phrase 'music making' really made sense.

Indeed, very fine listening, and I don't consider myself a baroque or near-baroque aficionado at all. Do catch this if you can, for those who haven't yet.

BTW, it just occurred to me: I take it that this season's Cadogan Hall Monday PCM's aren't being filmed, like last year's season? I saw no indication that this was happening, so last year presumably was a one-off experiment.