Composer

The famous owner of the blue violin chose the subtitle "Old Style Concert" for his programme. He was inspired by the violinist Jan Kubelík and his famous recitals in Carnegie Hall at the beginning of the 20th century. Hence the emphasis on Paganini's highly virtuosic compositions.

Pavel Šporcl – Concert in the Old Style

Church of Saints Simon and Jude

Under the masterful guidance of Pierre Hantaï, enter the opulent world of Baroque splendor, where every note is effervescent and around each musical corner is another surprise. From the dramatic sweep of C.P.E. Bach’s Symphony in B-Minor to the virtuosic interplay of J.S. Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 5, this program radiates ingenuity. With selections from Rameau’s enchanting operas and one of Leclair’s bristling violin concertos, the sophistication and intellect of French Baroque comes vividly to life.

EPSG:4326

A Grand Baroque

Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts

The Huntington

2025 San Francisco Bach Festival Program I

San Francisco Conservatory of Music

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.”

J.S. Bach and the French Baroque

Carnegie Hall

Critics laud the violinist’s rare combination of stunning virtuosity, serene lyricism, and an unfaltering musicality: “Ehnes, who has the silkiest tone in the business, achieves a level of perfection, full of feeling but without show, that puts him in a class of his own. … He gave a poetic performance, bringing out the music’s wistfulness as well as its fury and dazzle.” (The Guardian) UMS audiences enjoyed one of Ehnes’s Bach/Ysäye digital recitals filmed from his living room during the pandemic, but this is the first opportunity to hear him live. Program to be announced.

Composer

Jean-Marie Léclair

Events

Past events

23 - 24 Mar, 2026

Pavel Šporcl – Concert in the Old Style · Prague Symphony Orchestra

17 - 18 Jan, 2026

A Grand Baroque · Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra

About

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