Trio Sonatas at Bergson: Handel, Vivaldi, and Bach
What the string quartet is today, the trio sonata was in the Baroque era: the supreme art form of chamber music. Composers throughout Europe vied with one another to produce the greatest possible richness of sound, elegance, and virtuosity from just a few instruments. This concert takes us on a musical journey through 18th-century Europe, from Venice to Paris, London, and Berlin.
We begin with Antonio Lotti, a composer who is hardly known today but who was among the most respected musicians in Europe during his lifetime. Even Johann Sebastian Bach studied his works. His Echo Quartet plays with a favorite Baroque effect: the oboes seem to respond to one another across the room, as if their voices were echoing from afar.
George Frideric Handel was also a musical cosmopolitan. Born in Halle, trained in Italy, and later becoming London’s most successful composer, he combined Italian passion, French elegance, and German counterpoint into an unmistakable style. His trio sonatas are among the masterpieces of the genre.
In Wilhelm Friedemann and Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, we encounter two of Johann Sebastian Bach’s sons. Contemporaries even considered Wilhelm Friedemann to be the most gifted of the Bach sons. Carl Philipp Emanuel, in turn, became a musical role model for Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven. His trio for two English horns features an instrument that neither originates from England nor is a horn, but rather a particularly warm and melancholic variant of the oboe.
Finally, François Couperin dreamed of a musical Europe without borders. In his cycle *Les Nations*, he combined French taste with Italian virtuosity, thus far ahead of his time. Antonio Vivaldi, the famous “Red Priest” from Venice, concludes the program with a concerto full of rhythmic energy and sonic brilliance.
This extraordinary program is performed by members of the Bavarian State Orchestra—musicians from one of the oldest and most renowned orchestras in the world. Together, they bring the fascinating soundscape of the Baroque to life with historical curiosity, virtuosity, and a joy of playing.
Program
Antonio Lotti
Echo Quartet for 2 Oboes, Cello, and Double Bass
George Frideric Handel
Trio Sonata in F Major, Op. 5, No. 6, HWV 401
Wilhelm Friedemann Bach
Pastorale in A minor for oboe, bassoon, and basso continuo
François Couperin
Excerpts from *Les Nations. Sonades, et Suites de Simphonies, Second Ordre*: “L’Espagnol”
George Frideric Handel
Trio Sonata in B-flat major, Op. 2, No. 3, HWV 388
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach
Trio in F major, Wq 163, for 2 English horns and basso continuo
Antonio Vivaldi
Concerto in G minor, RV 107
Admission and Tickets
Doors open at 6:30 pm
Start: 7:00 pm
End: 8:30 pm
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