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During Bach’s composing years, French style and culture were highly influential in Germany, considered to add a refined touch to fashion, music, and more. So it is that French grace notes, like the rhythms of court dances, found their way into the music of a composer who never visited the country. Yet, as always, in his habit of exploring other genres and composers—he was known as a particular admirer of Couperin—Bach emerged as a distinctive voice. “What I call the French foam in Sebastian Bach’s music cannot—I must admit—be so readily lifted off that you can lay your hands on it. It is like ether: it permeates all, yet it is intangible,” German composer Karl Freidrich Zelter wrote in 1827, adding “his style is typically Bach, as is everything about him.”

Bach specialist Angela Hewitt is conductor and piano soloist in a program of works displaying the nimbleness and ingenuity of Bach, and his successor, Mozart, in composing concertos and chamber works that pushed musical boundaries. Bach has been the backbone of Hewitt’s career. She was immersed in his music through her father, a cathedral organist, and recalls, “I danced to Bach, sang Bach, played him on the violin and recorder . . . and in the end put all that experience into playing his music on the piano.” Her Hyperion recording of all the major keyboard works was hailed as “one of the record glories of our age” (The Sunday Times) and she recently completed the Bach Odyssey, performing them in concerts worldwide. Hewitt leads from the keyboard in the D-minor and G-minor concertos.

Caramoor’s 80th Season begins with a performance of Beethoven’s enduring, iconic Symphony No. 9, led by the enthralling Venezualan conductor Rafael Payare in his Caramoor debut. Four rising star soloists join a stellar hand-picked chorus; its awe-inspiring final movement “Ode to Joy” is an enduring testament to the power of unity and the human spirit.

A single performance of one of the Bach Brandenburg Concertos offers a glimpse into the composer’s ability to push the concerto form forward. Hearing the complete grouping of the six Brandenburgs together offers an understanding of just how substantial Bach’s innovations were. The Brandenburg Concertos were written after the composer met the Margrave of Brandenburg, whose court was known for a substantial musical establishment. Bach reworked some previous materials into a group titled “Six Concerts for Several Instruments” and sent them off to the Margrave for consideration in 1721. Later dubbed the Brandenburg Concertos, they do indeed employ several instruments, in movements designed to showcase the characteristics of each, in solos or as part of new pairings. The first includes a pair of horns, instruments associated mostly with hunting calls, in a solo group with three oboes, bassoon and violin. No. 2, provides a challenging turn for solo trumpet along with flute, oboe, and violin. The third is a string concerto for three trios of violin, viola, and cello. Two flutes and solo violin are highlighted in Concerto No. 4, while No. 5 brings the harpsichord forward as a solo instrument, one of the first occasions the instrument had stepped away from a continuo role. No. 6 excludes violins altogether to focus on the voices of lower strings. The Margrave’s reaction to this enthusiastic offering is unknown, as there is no evidence that he responded to Bach’s submission or that the works were performed at his court.

Spend an enchanting afternoon with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, under the direction of the remarkable Anna Rakitina, a rising star making her eagerly awaited Caramoor debut. At the heart of the program, the award-winning American violin Stella Chen takes the stage to perform Beethoven’s legendary Violin Concerto, a timeless masterpiece and cornerstone of the violin repertoire.

Four emerging composers are given the task of creating a new composition under the guidance of Composer Mentor Augusta Read Thomas, “a prodigious talent… the most accessible ambassador of the new modernism” (The New Yorker) through OSL’s DeGaetano Composition Institute.

As the summer draws to a close, don’t miss the grand finale of our 80th season with Musical America’s 2022 Conductor of the Year Teddy Abrams, celebrated for his vibrant energy and electrifying performances. Maestro Abrams will lead the Orchestra of St. Luke’s in a captivating program featuring the incomparable pianist Garrick Ohlsson, who will bring to life one of Beethoven’s most powerful and poetic piano concertos. Join us to bid farewell to summer in spectacular style!

Hear a select ensemble of OSL members perform one of the most beloved works in the chamber music repertoire, Schubert’s Octet in F Major.

Raphaël Pichon returns to Carnegie Hall, bringing his narrative-driven approach to concerts to lead a journey through Beethoven’s music, featuring movements from the rarely heard gem Leonore Prohaska, a unique arrangement of the Symphony No. 7, and the monumental Symphony No. 9 featuring the exuberant “Ode to Joy.”