The 18th-c. Salon: Music by Bach’s Son
Thursday, July 18, 2024 at 07:30pm
Emmanuel Church in the City of Boston
15 Newbury St
5-35
The Berlin Trio will present a set of quartets featuring the enchanting and unusual instrumentation of flute, viola, and fortepiano. Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach composed these distinctive quartets in 1788, and they embody the expressive and innovative style characteristic of Berlin court composers during this transitional period between the late Baroque and early Classical eras. The writing is equitable for all three instruments, with elegant motives and virtuosic embellishments gracefully exchanged between them. Autographs from arts patron Sara Levy’s personal library suggest that she commissioned these quartets for her salon, which served as a hub for intellectuals, attracting some of the most talented composers associated with King Frederick “the Great’s” court.
The Berlin Trio
Mary Oleskiewicz, baroque flute
Georgina McKay Lodge, viola
David Schulenberg, fortepiano
