Classical Notes: Tchaikovsky, opera, Bach and beer
By Douglas Levy
This Friday, Feb. 7 at 10:30 a.m., and again Saturday, Feb. 8 at 7:30 p.m., the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra presents the first of its two-part Tchaikovsky Festival (part two is two weeks later, Feb. 21 and 22).
This week’s concert features two works by the festival’s namesake – the scintillating Capriccio Italien and the seldom heard Piano Concerto No. 2 in G Major. Completing this musical trifecta is Stravinsky’s The Fairy’s Kiss, an homage to Tchaikovsky in the form of a divertimento, in which the former composer weaves together excerpts from lesser known works of the latter.
Music Director JoAnn Falletta is on the podium, and the much-lauded Canadian pianist Sheng Cai is the soloist. For tickets call the BPO Box Office at (716) 885-5000.
The BPO will also be presenting its “Little Kids’ program for children up to 5 years old on Saturday, Feb. 8 at 10 a.m .
Beer and opera
Preview/calendar: Buffalo Opera Unlimited’s Opera on Tap
Beer fanciers and opera lovers are both invited, on Saturday, Feb. 8 at 7 p.m., at the Resurgence Brewing Company for “Opera on Tap”, an evening of opera’s great party scenes and drinking songs.
Thrill to the Libiamo chorus from La Traviata, bubble over with the Champagne Chorus from Die Fledermaus, and delight in Dulcamara’s swaggering aria from L’Elisir d’Amore. Speed Dating Tonight! toasts to Buffalo, and there is much, much more.
General admission tickets are $25, $10 for students with ID. All this happens at Resurgence Brewing Company, 55 Chicago St. in Buffalo. For more information go to buffalooperaunlimited.org.
Buffalo Chamber Players return for Bach & Brews’ – and the ‘Coffee Cantata’
On Wednesday, Feb. 12 at 7:30 p.m. in The 9th Ward (a part of Asbury Hall, 341 Delaware Ave. at Tupper), the Buffalo Chamber Players will kick back and perform works from the 18th through 20th centuries, highlighted by music of the peripatetic J.S. Bach.
Bach worked for aristocrats and highly placed clerics in some half-dozen parishes and principalities in Germany. He moved around a lot, taking his 20 children (by two wives) with him. He composed music in every style and genre of day.
His last posting was in Leipzig, where he was director of church music – meaning he had the duty of supplying service music for three other churches as well as his employer, St. Thomas Church. In addition, he had to direct the church’s school and was expected to weekly lead the Collegium Musicum, a group of local musicians and students.
This meant that he had to write new, secular music for this group along with the religious works (like 300 cantatas he wrote over the course of six years.) These semi-pro, two-hour musicales took place at Café Zimmerman, a hot spot for music and other cultural interests.
It is this casual, fun-loving environment that the Buffalo Chamber Players wish to recreate in this addition of “Bach & Brews.”
The featured piece is Bach’s Coffee Cantata, a comic send-up of then society’s new fascination with java. The singers are soprano Colleen Marcello, tenor Todd Creech and bass Jaman Dunn-Danger.
Other music by Mozart, Gliere and Queen (yes, that Queen!) will fill out the program.
Artistic Director Janz Castelo de Armas loves presenting these programs: their relaxed atmosphere and eclectic programming, all of which combine to offer a meaningful musical experience without the stuffiness often associated with classical music.
“Whether you are a seasoned classical concert-goer or a classical newbie,” said Castelo, “I guarantee you will have a good time!”
Tickets are $25 at the door, $23 in presale, and may be obtained at https://tixr.com/e/117138.
After three decades as a public radio broadcaster, Douglas Levy returned to his native Buffalo to write about music and whatever else someone is willing to pay for.
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