Posted: Thursday, June 04, 2009

In a year bursting with anniversaries of one sort or another, Bachfest Leipzig's offering in 2009 is significant perhaps just as much for those not reflected as those that are. I mention it simply because without one of them, we should not be able to enjoy this annual feast in celebration of JSB in his natural habitat and in the way that we do - freely and in friendship.
(Pictured (Credit Michael Bader): Leipzig today, a panoramic view of buildings with which Bach would have been familiar nestling among those of the modern era)

The Fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 not only removed stringent political barriers that divided East and West, but led to the foundation ten years later of the Leipzig Bachfest in 1999 that agreeably exploits all the positive musical opportunities a 'barrier-free' Europe provides. In 2009 prominent musicians from around the world will mingle easily and equally with distinguished Bach scholars, legendary local music institutions and a multi-national audience all drawn together by one creative genius who we refer to affectionately as JSB.

In this day and age, with all that is going on around us, such gatherings are an oasis of sanity and, for me, this year is one of special significance. I shall light a candle in St. Thomas's near to Bach's grave for Paul* in his centenary year.

The Festival's Artistic Directors Thomaskantor Georg Christoph Biller, Tonhalle Zürich director Elmar Weingarten and director of the Bach-Archiv Christoph Wolff write...
" ....Mendelssohn and Max Reger mark the beginning and end of a musical era in which there was growing awareness among a broader public of the works of Johann Sebastian Bach, which these two musicians in particular did much to propogate....From 1907, Reger was the music director of Leipzig University. We will be using the occasion of its 600th anniversary in 2009 not only to turn our attention to university music at the time of Bach, but also to pay homage to the work of that late Romantic composer for whom the cantor of St. Thomas' represented ' the beginning and end of all music'.

Mendelssohn's 200th anniversary has been well celebrated in the UK and we, in LBS, have contributed to this by drawing attention to his work to revive Bach's music in the 19th century in various articles published in our Journal Bach Notes. However the work and influence of Max Reger might be better known in the organ world here than on a broader concert platform, so here is an opportunity to address that and give the composer and performer the credit he is due. Reger's philosophical response to the ramblings of a certain music critic after one of his performances will still resonate with many of us today no doubt!
Travel to Leipzig
If you are able to make last minute plans then daily cheap flights are possibe from Stansted courtesy of Ryanair subject to availability (http://www.ryanair.com/) and these will fly you to Altenburg where a connecting bus (12 Euros) will then transport you to Leipzig city centre. Visit http://www.bachfestleipzig.de/ for the full programme, details, tickets and other information. LBS is not able to arrange travel, hotels or tickets but hopes that the information given will be of some help.
* Dr. Paul Steinitz (1909-1988) Bach conductor, scholar and teacher, founder-conductor of London Bach Society and Steinitz Bach Players
Margaret Steinitz
Artistic Director, London Bach Society








 
[ Posted by M S at 10:26:00 AM GMT ] ¤ Permalink ¤ 0 comments
Posted: Wednesday, May 13, 2009
The inaugural Steinitz Bach Prize for solo strings took place on Monday 11 May in the Weston Gallery at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama (RWCMD).
This new solo Bach prize for strings is open to students studying in either the String Department or Department of Historical Performance at RWCMD and is being supported for three years jointly by Margaret Steinitz and the London Bach Society in respect of Paul Steinitz's centenary later this year.

The joint winners are Jennifer MacCallum viola- and Sabine Stoffer violin who will each receive their Prize at the RWCMD Graduation Day celebrations on Friday 3 July in St. David's Hall, Cardiff. Many congratulations and best wishes to them both and our thanks and best wishes to all the other entrants for taking part and offering such a feast of Bach's solo repertoire. Jennifer is currently studying in the String Department and Sabine a student at the Department of Historical Performance. There will be a further report in Bach Notes, the LBS Journal to be published in September.

The Panel was Peter Esswood, Head of Strings and Dr. John Cranmer, Head of the Undergraduate Course and the next competition will take place in 2010.
 
[ Posted by M S at 2:42:00 PM GMT ] ¤ Permalink ¤ 0 comments
Posted: Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Sometimes I feel that this beloved country of ours has an Honours Degree, **First, in talking itself into the brimstone pit! OK, so we have a problem getting our young people into concert halls to hear Bach and Beethoven. That is accepted...but equally, we also have a problem getting them into the Polling Booths to vote! How many 18-25 year-olds will turn out on 4 June, I wonder? Is it ignorance or general malaise? Indifference or sheer frustration because we just don't hear them? So why should they vote, volunteer or come into the realms of what is perceived to be as far away from their thinking as it could possibly be?

Anyone around the concert world in London this Easter hols was exposed to musical experience sufficient to dispel any perception of malaise or indifference by young people to anything at all, never mind classical music. It wasn't our usual groups with their traditional Bach offerings making waves this passiontide but two world-famous musical institutions from abroad, both with significant 18th century connections and both offering us all hope for the future.

Bach's old choir, the Thomanerchor (St. Thomas Boys' Choir - pictured) joined the Tölz Boys and Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra/Chailly on Palm Sunday (Barbican) in a sold-out performance of Bach's Matthäus-Passion that prompted five-star press ratings and unqualified praise. The choir was actually founded in 1212, but the Cantor with whom it is most closely associated is none other than J S Bach himself, Leipzig's Thomaskantor from 1723-1750. Today's generation numbers c.90 boys, whose ages range from 9-18, who live and study at their Alumnat, rehearse together for three hours every day, enjoy weekly individual vocal and instrumental tuition and maintain the musical traditions at the Thomaskirche (St. Thomas' Church) where their illustrious former 'boss' is buried in the chancel. Weekly Bach cantatas complement the annual Passion performances and Christmas Oratorio in a punishing national and international schedule that leaves little free time after study and sleeping! Bach's music is meat and drink to them, a friend for life and they know it better than most of us. The majority of boys eventually take up a variety of professions - the law, medicine, languages. However, tenor Christoph Genz, the vocal group amarcord and the German pop group Prinzen to name but a few, are all former Thomaner. The choir today is directed with total dedication by Professor Georg Christoph Biller- himself a former Thomaner - and his appointment in 1992, the first Thomaskantor in the unified Germany, is to me an expression of the value the choir places upon its alumni and musical traditions that stretches far beyond the politics going on all around them over the last century.

Simon Bolivar was a towering political and military figure in late 18th and early 19th century Latin America. His exploits to free many of these countries from Spanish rule earned him the title of El Liberador and even today, some two hundred years later, his name is revered and memory honoured throughout the continent. Therefore it is not surprising that it was given to a new youth orchestra created in 1975, the Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela, that took London by storm thirty years later at its recent week-long South Bank residency. The enthusiasm of these young musicians, many drawn from some of the poorest districts, was infectious and the comparative 'informality' of their platform presence could eventually be the way forward for all of us here. That will require some real 'thinking out of the box' for many of us so used to the strict formality of Western European concert etiquette..but think out of the box we must and listen to the drumbeat of the young people in our own country to whom we ultimately entrust our priceless musical heritage. MS

LBS Footnote: In 1994, the London Bach Society brought the Thomanerchor and their new Cantor to Britain for the choir's first ever visit here - four performances of Bach's Johannes-Passion (1725) with Steinitz Bach Players. BBC Radio 3 (Sony Awards - Station of the Year 2009) broadcast and interviewed. Then in 2006 the choir broke its UK tour schedule to join the LBS in London to help us celebrate our 60th anniversary....but we are mere beginners! In 2012 the Thomanerchor will celebrate its 800th. More Weblogs about them to follow...



 
[ Posted by M S at 2:31:00 PM GMT ] ¤ Permalink ¤ 0 comments
Posted: Friday, May 08, 2009
SBP at LBS Benefit

It isn't everyday that we get to do something different with Bach, honour an inspirational film-maker and benefit ourselves all at the same time! But then not everyone has the entrepreneurial flair of LBS President Sir David Tang (pictured right) either. With benefit evenings two-a-penny, what to do that is just a little bit (or even a big bit) different from the usual mix - concert, musicians giving their services, followed by posh nosh, the odd glass or two, all in the hope that this familiar cocktail will be sufficient to inspire a big donation - takes some thinking about.

For ours last December, David brought us all together - SBP musicians, director Tom Edmunds, his company of actors and in a St. Martin-in-the-Fields 'freshly made' by its refurbishment - to re-imagine a play with a contemporary theme inspired by Bach. Anthony Minghella's death in March 2008 shocked the film world and Bach lost a devoted admirer and follower. Minghella wrote "Cigarettes and chocolate" (1988), an award-winning one act play that has the St. Matthew Passion as its musical inspiration. The theme is as relevant today as it was when he wrote it - Gemma (Alice Patten) has given up speaking for Lent. She sits in her flat and listens to Bach's St. Matthew Passion. Her decision provokes consternation from her friends, each imagining it is the result of something one of them has done. How they react and respond, sometimes wittily, sometimes poignantly, is central to the play. Our role, directed by Anthony Robson, was to perform movements from the Passion in the gallery - very Bachian this! We were completely 'at home' yet still part of something new for us.

A warm atmosphere greeted guests and David's colourful mix of distinguished specials who joined us mingled informally with the audience assembling. As Compère, David thanked our generous donors including Aspinalls and Dame Vivien Duffield, then introduced the actor Jude Law, who delivered a most moving tribute to his friend Minghella. It was lovely that Carolyn and the family could be with us too. The lights then dimmed; conversation hushed; the play unfolded. There was rapt attention for both dialogue and music: long moving speeches interspersed with favourite arias for solo violin and gamba among others. Received with generous applause and a succession of enthusiastic curtain calls, our guests then moved to a candlelit Crypt for dinner and we packed up all our gear before joining them. It had been a long, wonderful day...and so well-worth it! Thank you David. MS
(Photo credit Alan Davidson: pictured l to r The Duchess of York, Sir Michael Caine, Carolyn Minghella, Jude Law and Sir David Tang. Among the guests were Lady (Lucy) Tang, Lady (Shakira) Caine, Dame Vivien Duffield, Sir Ronald Grierson, The Hon Tessa Keswick and Sir Mark Weinberg).
The proceeds of the evening will benefit the London Bach Society
 
[ Posted by M S at 10:15:00 AM GMT ] ¤ Permalink ¤ 0 comments
Posted: Thursday, March 12, 2009

Starting up a new event is always exciting. The 2nd LBS Bach Singers' Prize competition was promoted last November as part of our annual Bachfest and we were not disappointed. 45 singers applied in response to fairly limited advertising. Some were already studying in London; some travelled here specially to take part. Our distinguished Jury of Ian Partridge, Patrizia Kwella, Peter Harvey, and Anthony Robson had the hard task of choosing 10 singers to go through to the semi-finals and then four to The Final.

The day of The Final was special too. For this 2nd competition we went to St. George's Church Hanover Square, with its fine musical tradition and warm welcome. It was a perfect November day and no-one seemed to have any travel difficulties - except me this time. My auto decided to pack up just before the Festival began and was finally sent to be environmentally scrapped. Train and walking is all very good for the figure and soul... unless of course you are carrying a huge bag full of orchestral material!

The Finalists perform their programmes with Steinitz Bach Players (SBP) directed by Anthony Robson and before a public audience. Special guests mingle with our wider supporters. This year was no exception. The evening had a special buzz too. The Final celebrated Lord (Eric) Avebury's 80th birthday, so we were joined by a party of guests from the House of Lords, international development, the academic and political worlds. Lord Avebury is a truly insatiable devotee of Bach's music and he has been supporting us since 1970s. Eric is now LBS Vice President.

To prepare for their performances, the Finalists rehearsed during the afternoon. Now, rehearsing in a church sometimes requires working with or around their own commitments. This time it was a wedding rehearsal lasting 30 minutes. My earlier concerns that we would consequently run out of rehearsal time were completely unfounded. We not only worked very hard, but continued to enjoy playing and hearing some favourite Bach arias, at the same time placing our own bets as to who would win. It is amazing how competitive prizes always seem to capture the imagination - player and audience alike! We finished rehearsing, with sufficient time remaining for everyone to have a rest and get a bite to eat before the 7.15pm start...we also had Philippa our orchestral manager to ensure that everyone was in their place and with the right music! What a marvellous job she always does!

Competition Finals can sometimes be lengthy affairs, but here each singer presented a beautifully planned 20 minute programme to rapped attention and the Jury faced a very difficult task making its choice. There were no audiences prizes, just an outright winner who would take the £2,000 Prize generously donated by The Matthiesen Foundation, with Patrick Matthiesen joining Lord Avebury and other members of the presentation party. The Jury finally emerged. Guests returned to their seats and the noise generated by excited chatter and gossiping during the interregnum suddenly died down to whispers and then that special hushed silence in anticipation of the result.

Our winner is....
Jury Chairman Ian Partridge paid warm tribute to all the singers and thanked them for the musical treat they had given everyone. He also thanked our competition benefactors and said how excited all concerned were that this Prize had been founded.

The winner was the Polish soprano Jolanta Kowalska (25) (pictured) who delighted with her mixed programme of arias from Mass in B minor, Magnificat, Cantatas 127 and 211, and her recitative from Cantata 199. A Polish Ministry of Culture scholar (2004-2008), Jolanta is currently continuing her studies with Ameral Gunson at London's Guildhall School of Music and Drama and she is also winner of the Christa Bach Foundation prize at the XVI Internationaler Johann-Sebastian-Bach Wettbwerb in Leipzig.

We send our congratulations to Jolanta and also to the remaining Finalists: the baritone Hugo Oliveira (Portugal), the counter tenor Christopher Lowrey (USA) and the bass-baritone Jonathan Sells (UK). Our best wishes go to all of them and to the other entrants for very successful careers. It was entirely our pleasure.

The Bachfest Circle
The competition was supported by The Matthiesen Foundation, The Fenton Arts Trust, The Lynn Foundation and donors to Lord Avebury's 80th Birthday. We thank them all sincerely.

The 3rd competition is at the London Bach Society's Bachfest in Oct/Nov 2010. Watch this space! Donors to join the Bachfest Circle for 2010 including this competition are invited to contact us: lbs@lonbachsoc.demon.co.uk. We welcome donations from Private Patrons, Corporates and Trusts & Foundations.
Margaret Steinitz



 
[ Posted by M S at 2:12:00 PM GMT ] ¤ Permalink ¤ 0 comments
Posted: Tuesday, June 26, 2007
I've just returned from a visit to the Leipzig Bachfest (7-17 June). As usual there is lots to hear, to see and changes to note. The city is currently a mish-mash of architectural styles, an uneasy mix of the old, Stalinist and faceless and the very latest in chic and style. In amongst all of this are the sites we associate with Bach's lifetime, tall, solid and dependable - the Nikolaikirche in Nikolaistrasse just off the shopping arcades in the Grimmastrasse and the Thomaskirche in Thomaskirchhof off the Markt Platz and near to the Altes Rathaus (Old Town Hall). There is a profusion of cafés and eating places all around, to such an extent now that some of the famous monuments could go completely unnoticed - Goethe now has to look down upon a column of outdoor cafés for example and unless you know where to look, could be completely missed by the culture-vulture doing the grand tour of the city centre! Stark contrast indeed to the days of the old GDR.

However the city is not so much a building site for the sake of it, but more of one that is saying to the world "we are looking forward, inspired and encouraged by our cultural heritage". How this will all pan out remains to be seen. Only when the generations born after the fall of the GDR in 1989, or with no recollection of what life was like during those years, will the true character of the city emerge.

After 'the change' the citizens of Leipzig were consulted as to how they wanted their city to be repaired, rebuilt and represented. The 'Paulinerverein' was set up to ensure that the city wrote into its plans the restoration of the famous Leipzig University Church that was razed to the ground by the authorities in 1968 to make way for a new science block. After much lobbying and fund-raising to garner support for the idea, eventually the Saxony State Government in Dresden granted the funds to rebuild with the aim of completion by 2009, the 600th anniversary of the University's foundation. Unalloyed joy soon turned to deep despair when descent emerged and the plan was dropped....I believe a church will be built, but not a recreation of the original historic Paulinerkirche, where Bach's Cantata BWV 198 (Trauerode) was first performed in October 1727, and where Schumann, Brahms and Mendelssohn all conducted. Is this an example of any conflict of opinion that exists as to how the future should be shaped, I wonder?
MS
 
[ Posted by M S at 10:48:00 AM GMT ] ¤ Permalink ¤ 0 comments
Posted: Wednesday, June 06, 2007
For ten days from tomorrow, the city of Leipzig will be buzzing with activity. The cafés will be full, flowers blooming and Festival bunting everywhere. It is the time of the Leipzig Bachfest. From 7-17 June there will be another feast of events this time around the theme 'From Monteverdi to Bach' and I will be attending the Festival from 13-17 June. The series not only includes some mouth-watering concerts and recitals, but brings together a variety of personalities from the Bach world globally. So it is time to re-kindle old friendships and for me, catch up with what's happening so that I can bring some of what I find back to London and to our Bachfest.

LBS first visited Bach's city of Leipzig in 1964, and a far-cry from the bustling, modern cultural centre of the post-communist era. LBS was the first cultural organisation to 'cross the Berlin Wall' and then made a return visit in 1983 for a British Council supported tour as part of the Martin Luther Year celebrations, with a Mass in B minor in Thomaskirche the highlight. Paul conducted our original choir and our existing orchestra, Steinitz Bach Players, in complete awe of the surroundings and greatly moved by the attentive audience, among whom (and unknown to us at the time) was a young music student destined later to become Thomaskantor and one of my kindred musical friends, Prof. Georg Christoph Biller.

In 1994, LBS hosted the first ever visit to the UK by the world-famous Thomanerchor Leipzig, directed by Prof. Biller. Bach held the post of Thomaskantor from 1723-1750 and composed most of his church music for the set of possibly unruly boys he had in his choir. Years later, we in LBS can testify to the professionalism of today's choir of 9-18 year old singers who joined us in London last November for our 60th anniversary celebrations.

All the famous locations associated with Bach are close by and will be the main venues used for the 2007 Leipzig Bachfest. With the festival series moved to the early summer month of June, there is an opportunity to see and enjoy them in warm sunshine - the last time I saw BBC weather for Leipzig the temps were approaching the 90 degree mark! There is a real sens of the Bach presence in the Thomaskirche where his remains are buried in the Chancel.

A few minutes' walk away there is also the historic Nikolaikirche where Bach's Johannes-Passion was first performed in 1724. I immediately recall that years later in 1989, the Nikolaikirche was a sanctuary where modern-day revolutionaries met to plan the eventual downfall of the distasteful communist regime in East Germany (DDR). What has arisen from that era is a city reborn, drawing upon its rich cultural heritage to welcome us.

More blogs to follow....
Margaret Steinitz
 
[ Posted by M S at 12:22:00 PM GMT ] ¤ Permalink ¤ 0 comments

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