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09/26/2025

A nice article by conductor Jakob Lehmann on performing historically informed works by Rossini, a topic he has researched closely, and will be able to present in concert with Monteverdi Choirs in Rossini: Sacred and Profane on October 2 at Cadogen Hall in London.

🎭 "Other than the use of period instruments, which open up a whole new world of sounds, colours, and shapes, the way of how to play this music is of equal, if not even greater importance in our attempt to bring about a “style change” in the perception and consumption of the music of this very important, yet today too often neglected period in musical history."

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A world-leading choir, and two world-class period-instrument orchestras.

09/24/2025

Experience Johann Sebastian Bach’s monumental B Minor Mass as never before in this intimate concert film recorded live in March 2024 at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall. Featuring the American Classical Orchestra, under the direction of Thomas Crawford, and Nola Richardson, Soprano, this masterwork is performed on period instruments using authentic historical performance techniques. This film brings audiences closer to the sound world that Bach himself would have known.

Captured in stunning HD with multiple cameras positioned both on stage and throughout the hall, this film places viewers at the heart of the performance. The meticulously recorded audio preserves every nuance of the live acoustic, while the cinematography creates an immersive experience that makes you feel present among the musicians.

More info➡️

09/23/2025

Some thoughts from conductor Jakob Lehmann regarding early music, historically informed performance, and the many sides of Rossini.

There are no dividing lines - interview: conductor Jakob Lehmann on bringing historically informed Rossini to Cadogan Hall

09/16/2025

A nice little write up of Sarah Kirkland Snider's Hildegard, debuting November 5-9 at the Wallis, NYC, but a with a preview tonight at Guggenheim Works and Processes. Starring Nola Richardson, Soprano in the title role of Hildegard.

Highlights of the season include Esa-Pekka Salonen’s Boulez concerts with the New York Phil and Sarah Kirkland Snider’s new opera about Hildegard of Bingen in Los Angeles.

09/10/2025

Another chance to experience the festival magic again with Stephen Stubbs, Douglas Williams, Sherezade Panthaki, soprano, Richard Pittsinger, Marc Molomot, and Pacific Music Works.

For fans who were not able to attend our June 2025 Festival in person—or for those wishing to experience the Festival magic again—we invite you to enjoy the exceptional talent of BEMF artists in the comfort of your own home with our Encore! Virtual Festival. The videos premiere FRIDAY, September 5 at 7pm and will be available to watch through Sunday, September 28.

https://bemf.org/2025-festival/virtual-festival/

Individual Tickets start at $25 for the Concerts and Telemann's Pimpinone & Ino, and $30 for Keiser's Octavia. Save 10% when you subscribe to the complete ENCORE! Serpent Package and receive all 4 programs AND a digital copy of the 2025 Festival Program Book for just $99!

Photos by Kathy Wittman, Ball Square Films.

09/06/2025

Born this Day: Amy Beach, September 5, 1867
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Amy Marcy Cheney Beach was an American composer and pianist. She was the first successful American female composer of large-scale art music. Her "Gaelic" Symphony, premiered by the Boston Symphony Orchestra in 1896, was the first symphony composed and published by an American woman. She was one of the first American composers of her era to succeed without the benefit of European training, and was known as one of the most respected and acclaimed American composers. As a pianist, she was acclaimed for concerts she gave featuring her own music in the United States and in Germany.

09/06/2025

Born this Day: Johann Christian Bach, September 5, 1735
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J.C. Bach was a German composer of the Classical era, and the youngest son of Johann Sebastien Bach. While in Italy, Bach was appointed as an organist at the Milan Cathedral. In 1762 he became a composer to the King’s Theatre in London where he wrote a number of successful Italian operas and became known as "The English Bach." He is responsible for the development of the sinfonia concertante form. He became one of the most influential figures of the classical period, influencing compositional styles of prolific composers like Joseph Haydn and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, whom he taught for 5 months when Mozart was 8. Bach's compositions include eleven operas, as well as chamber music, orchestral music and compositions for keyboard.

08/20/2025

What is the purpose of a poem, an illustration or a nonsensical phrase in a score? If it makes musicians stop and think, that’s a good start.

08/19/2025

Another stellar review for Hadleigh Adams and West Edge Opera's Wozzeck.

🎭 "Baritone Hadleigh Adams is also imposing in the title role. His sound is light and lyrical, which is all the more disturbing as he loses his mind and completely breaks down."

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* Notes * Alban Berg's Wozzeck (ovation pictured, photograph by author) opened at West Edge Opera on Saturday in Oakland. The impressive production has the same director and conductor as the excellent Lulu from this company held at the Oakland...

08/15/2025

We’re thrilled to welcome Thomas Cooley as Visiting Associate Professor! Professor Cooley is a vocalist specializing in historical performance and is a leading interpreter of Handel and J. S. Bach. He has brought his talents to over 30 U.S. states and to concert halls around the world, and now he will bring them to instructing Jacobs students. Please join us in giving him a warm welcome! 🙌

08/12/2025

A wonderful review for Hadleigh Adams and his searing portrayal of the title characters in the West Edge Opera's Wozzeck.

🎭 "As Wozzeck, Adams gave a performance of unrelenting intensity. His very physical portrayal of the role often juxtaposed stillness with fluidity, mirroring his vocal interpretation which was close to ideal. In Adams’s voice, the opera’s iconic solo, “Wir arme Leut” (“We poor folk”), stood out as it should."

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Elkhanah Pulitzer’s riveting “Wozzeck” at West Edge Opera pairs stark staging with potent performances and incisive orchestra.

07/31/2025

Another insightful review for conductor Jakob Lehmann, who led Teatro Nuovo's Macbeth last week.

🎭 "Bringing it all together was Jakob Lehmann’s revelatory conducting of a historically informed orchestra….We desperately need the stylistic renovation Lehmann offers. Even the best conventional Verdi conducting today—Fabio Luisi aside—has grown symphonic: too often slow, heavy and unyielding. By contrast, Lehmann’s account of Macbeth recalled the Italianate style that still could be found through most of the 20th century. A deft underlying pulse remains toe-tappingly brisk throughout, yet leaves space for fluid and flexible legato during arias, transparent textures, snappy articulation, accelerandi to conclude arias and scenes, and all the other idiomatic touches that bring Verdi alive.“

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Big American opera companies in America today resemble Broadway companies. They strive to fill gargantuan theaters by serving up a mix of warhorses and crossover repertoire, staged by celebrity directors, accompanied by overloud musical forces,